Isaiah 19:19
In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord .
You see no one puts up an alter when the world is burned up and everyone dead!
Look, there will even be cattle and pastures!
Isaiah 30:23
Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.
And people lying down safely
Ho 2:18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.
Joel 3:18
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of the Lord , and shall water the valley of [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse]tim.
The world is not all burned and all dead, sorry.
Your misplaced coloured bible verse spamming is a waste of our time.
Where is your supposed future millennium mentioned here? Nowhere. You are just gerrymandering Scripture to support your beliefs. These passages are talking about the success of the Gospel in this intra-Advent period. Nothing here correlates with Revelation 20, and you know it. You have nothing to support this period you create.
Christ only recognizes two ages in His teaching – “this world/age” and “the world/age to come.” One is current, corrupt and temporal and the other is impending, perfect and eternal. These terms are commonly used in the New Testament when contrasting the toil and trouble of the here-and-now with the glory and pristine nature of the hereafter. These two common phrases are found in different places in the New Testament, along with several other similar expressions, referring to time and eternity.
For the sake of clarity, the phrases “this world” and “the world to come” in the KJV are better interpreted “this age” and “the age to come.” The Greek word that is often interpreted “world” in this contrast is
aion. But, it is not specifically speaking about the physical globe that we live on. It rather relates to: a vast period that is normally marked by what is said to occur within that period.
Scripture makes it abundantly clear that there is no intervening time-period or temporal age in between “this age” and “the age to come.” It is within the bounds of this juxtapose alone that we understand the whole eschatological arrangement, with its two unique diverse worlds. Johnathan Menn points out that the New Testament “gives us a clear, consistent and comprehensive eschatological interpretive structure. That structure is the ‘two ages’: … ‘this age’ and the ‘age to come’. The terminology of the two ages is the key concept for understanding biblical eschatology. A proper understanding of how this age and the age to come fit together renders biblical eschatology both understandable and coherent.”
The Greek word
kairos (meaning time) is also employed in a similar context to describe the here-and-now, whilst the Greek word
mello (meaning hereafter or ‘to come’) is regularly used to describe the eternal state, immediately following the second coming. Because of its contextual and consistent pointing to eternity, it is often translated “the time to come” or “the world to come.” These comparable words only serve to reinforce this recurrent New Testament contrast.
This can be seen in Romans 8:18:
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time (kairos) are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall (mello) be revealed in us.”
We see this same juxtapose in the New Testament between the words “now” and “then.” “Now” relates to time, and “then” relates to the future eternal state. The Greek word for “now” is
arti meaning: ‘just now, this moment, now at this time, at this very time, this moment’. The Greek word
nun is also used to describe the present time. The Greek word for “then” is
tote meaning: ‘then’ or ‘at that time’.
This is demonstrated in 1 Corinthians 13:9-12:
“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then (tote) that which is in part shall be done away … For now (arti) we see through a glass, darkly; but then (tote) face to face: now (arti) I know in part; but then (tote) shall I know even as also I am known.”
These words are employed in Scripture to divide “this age” from “the age to come.”
It is important to note, ages are normally distinguished by specific and distinct characteristics which occur within them. This helps us understand what (and when) we are looking at. We should keep this in mind as we delve deeper into this subject.
Historians talk about ages in history like the stone age, the iron age and the bronze age. We also hear terms like the ice age. The description given to the said age normally gives us an insight into the period of time we are looking at.
For example:
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The Stone Age was marked by a period in which stone was widely used to make implements.
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The Bronze Age was an era characterized by the widespread use of bronze.
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The Iron Age was a stage of time when the dominant toolmaking material was iron.
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The Ice Age was said to be a time of significantly colder global temperatures that caused glacial expansion across the earth’s surface.
It is the same in Scripture! Ages normally have detail or descriptions attached to them that give us a general overall insight into their location, duration and character.
The Bible sometimes even uses the words “hour” or “day” in a general non-literal sense to describe a time, age or era. But, again, the setting and duration of that period can only be definitely identified by observing the detail that continues to occur throughout that given time-span. For example: Jesus said in John 5:25 Jesus taught: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming [Gr.
hōra erchomai), and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” No one would surely insist in interpreting this as a literal 60 minutes. What is more, what is attributed to that “hour” lasts throughout the extent of the mentioned “hour” – namely spiritual resurrection. Christ here was simply saying ‘from this time forth’.
I John 2:18 describes the last days period introduced by Christ 2000 years ago, warning: “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time [Gr.
eschatos hōra or last hour].” It would be wrong to view this as speaking of a single hour. That is not remotely the sense or meaning. It is rather speaking about the intra-Advent period. This is a period that will continue to the coming of Christ, as other Scripture shows antichrist operating right up until the end.
A similar passage is found in Revelation 17:12, only talking about the tail-end period of antichrist. It predicts: “the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour [Gr.
mia hōra] with the beast.” It would be wrong for the end-time Bible student to limit the reign of antichrist at the end to 60 minutes. But the length of the hour mentioned is very much linked to the duration of the confederacy between the beast with the ten kings. Depending upon where one is living throughout the world, we could end up sleeping through such a brief moment.
We know that the phrase “the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2) is not referring to a single 24-hour day because it describes a period of ongoing salvation. Obviously, as long as salvation is happening, the day of salvation is still active. From repeated Scripture, we know that such a period was inaugurated at the beginning of the world/age and will last until the end of the world/age. That is when salvation is concluded.
On the other hand, when we observe Martha’s statement regarding “the resurrection at the last day” (John 11:24), there are several reasons to relate that to a particular singular day, rather than some ongoing era. First, we note the ongoing distinction between “the last days” (plural), which most informed Bible student correctly relate to the intra-Advent period, and that of “the last day” (singular), relating to the end of time. Second, the detail attributed to “the last day” communicates an event rather than a protracted period – namely “the resurrection.” There is no sense in the name or description of an age of ongoing protracted resurrection. That would be patently illogical and unscriptural. Third, the occasion in view is repeatedly depicted in the Bible as a general instantaneous catching away in the twinkling of an eye. Moreover, the righteous and wicked dead all rise in response to the same sovereign voice at Christ’s climactic return (John 5:28-29). We can therefore determine that this singular day is marked by the resurrection of all the dead.
Scriptural time-references must therefore be examined thoughtfully and meticulously, noting their repeated use, the context they are used in and the specific detail attached to them. Confusion kicks in when the Bible student ignores these. We should view each text from as broad a perspective as possible; namely an objective position, rather than a narrow theological perspective, or subjective position. Mentions must be analyzed in their totality in order to get a good panoramic spiritual vantage point and to arrive at an accurate understanding of the period in view. This is necessary to achieve a safe and accurate understanding of Scripture. You would be shocked how many schools of thought fall apart on these vital basic rules of biblical hermeneutics.
