Bound for a thousand years

rwb

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That's just not how Scripture uses 1000! We've been over this. The moment the Hebrew authors use 1000 in a theological context, something interesting happens. Investigate the following theological statements about God and nature, God and his people, or even God and time. They're ALL symbolic!

TIME in Rev 20 is likened to a thousand years. Of course, the thousand years are symbolic because to date the world has existed during this symbolic time since the advent of Christ coming to earth a man. I'm well aware of how Scripture uses 1000! So, I really don't know who you've been over this with, but it certainly is not with me.

Revelation 20 has divided Christians and warped how they read the bible - but it’s meant to be a short image of our safety in Christ during these 'gazillion years' between the Lord's Resurrection and his Return. Yet futurist end-timers have turned it into the thin edge of the wedge that sometimes breaks apart how the Old and New Covenants fit together - and sometimes even what the gospel means!

Again, I can't help but wonder what you are talking about??? TIME symbolized a thousand years is when Satan is bound, and when "great tribulation" toward the church began from the moment Christ came and ushered in this symbolic time. I don't know who you refer to as having a warped way for reading the Bible? Every faithful believer from the first century AD to the end of this TIME likened to a thousand years will be persecuted, and history bears out this truth.

When the angel begins to sound the seventh and final trumpet, which indicates this symbolic TIME likened to a thousand years are finished, the mystery of God is complete. The mystery is that Gentiles throughout the nations would be eternally saved as the Gospel is proclaimed unto all the earth in the power of the Holy Spirit. Salvation once known only to one nation, would, during this symbolic time likened to a thousand years would be made known to all nations throughout the earth. This means that when TIME likened to a thousand years are finished, (depending upon the translation one uses) we read there shall be no more delay, or time shall be no more. That's because this TIME likened to a thousand years ends after the Kingdom of heaven, now being completed as the Gospel is proclaimed has come to an end because the last of the Gentiles to be saved has come into the Kingdom of heaven by grace through faith.

This is why Satan is not loosed until TIME symbolized a thousand years are finished. His loosing cannot prevent the Kingdom of heaven from being complete. He is loosed only for a "little season" to gather together Gog (symbolic name for antichrist) and Magog (antichristian party) to come against Christ and Christians still alive on the earth after the thousand symbolic years have finished for one final attempt to keep the Kingdom of heaven from being complete. When Satan attempts to put a complete and final end to Christ and Christians, believers are caught up to be with the Lord in the air, and fire from God comes down from heaven to destroy everything alive on this earth.

All of this and more is happening in a moment and twinkling of the eye when the seventh and final angel begins to sound the trumpet.

Revelation 10:5-7 (KJV) And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

Romans 11:25 (KJV) For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Romans 16:25-26 (KJV) Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

Ephesians 3:4-6 (KJV) Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

Colossians 1:26-27 (KJV) Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

1 Timothy 3:16 (KJV) And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 (KJV) Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (KJV) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Revelation 20:8-9 (KJV) And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
 
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DavidPT

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How do the living pass from death to life by hearing the Word of Christ and believing on Him? Would you deny a spiritual resurrection to life from spiritual death is the way one passes from death to life upon hearing Christ and believing?

What I would do is apply that to the here and now only, this side of life, and not apply it to saints after they have passed on. Once saints have passed on, their hope is to be bodily resurrected eventually, which then happens once they take part in the first resurrection, not before they died, but after they died. In the meantime they are not co reigning in heaven with Christ, they are resting in heaven until the time of the first resurrection.
 
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rwb

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Because the book of Revelation is largely symbolic, it is not a literal thousand years. The devil is presently bound and will remain so until the Church Age is complete. This is to enable the Gospel to go out into all the world and for sinners to be converted to Christ. If the devil was not bound, he would be able to much more to hinder the Gospel and make it near impossible for anyone to be saved. But there will come a time when he will be released for a season. This will happen when the time of grace will be over and no more sinners will be saved. Then he will be rampant in the world and unless the days are shorten, no humans will actually survive. But during that time there will be a remnant in Israel who will be protected and put out of reach of the devil, so that when Jesus returns there will be an Israel for Him to return to.

I mostly agree with all you have said here. My only question is in your understanding of "all Israel that shall be saved"? The remnant from Israel speaks of Old Covenant saints. Because since Christ came and the building of His church throughout the earth began there is no more difference between Jew and Gentile in Christ. When the Kingdom of heaven is complete through Gentiles of faith coming in with faithful Jews (good olive tree) there is only one people, called Christians. This age likened to a thousand years is the time/day/age for salvation. Once this time is finished there will be no more saved from any nation, because this symbolic time will not be finished until the fullness of the Gentiles are saved. Satan is given a "little season" for the purpose of God to display His power and authority as He sends down fire from heaven to destroy them all.
 
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rwb

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The 1000 years are literal per these verses just as the days of creation are literal to say other wise is to deny the Word of GOD INMHO
2 Peter 3:8
King James Version

8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Psalm 90:4
For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

Whether or not these two verses prove a thousand literal years is not relevant. That does not prove a thousand years means ONE literal thousand years of TIME. This time is finished when Satan is loosed, and the seventh trumpet begins to sound. Once the angel begins to sound Scripture tells us there will be no more delay or that time shall be no more, depending on the translation one uses. Whichever is correct really doesn't matter because the mystery of God is then finished and that is that Gentiles too are saved. (See reply #121)

Revelation 10:5-7 (KJV) And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
 
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rwb

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What I would do is apply that to the here and now only, this side of life, and not apply it to saints after they have passed on. Once saints have passed on, their hope is to be bodily resurrected eventually, which then happens once they take part in the first resurrection, not before they died, but after they died. In the meantime they are not co reigning in heaven with Christ, they are resting in heaven until the time of the first resurrection.

What is applied to the here and now is not a bodily resurrection from the dead but is spiritual life from spiritual death when we hear His Word and believe on Him. Christ says this "hour" NOW IS when "the dead" hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.

John 5:24-25 (KJV) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

John 10:3-4 (KJV)
To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

This my friend is the first resurrection from death to life we must partake of in life to be spared the second death. It is according to the Bible as Jo 3 tells us to be born again, or to be made spiritually alive through Christ from spiritual death. It is not the bodily resurrection from physical death to physical life that every human will have when Christ returns the second time. At the bodily resurrection on the last day, when the last trumpet sounds all of humanity will be physically resurrected to share either in the fate of resurrection life, or resurrection of damnation. No more time, for time will have ended and eternal life begun.

John 5:28-29 (KJV) Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.




 
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eclipsenow

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If 500 years is a "long" time, then how much longer ago was Eden?
Who knows? Why is that important? Where do people even get the notion of dating anything from Eden in the first place?
 
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Erik Nelson

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There is no indication at all that it's talking in those terms rather than about a literally short amount of time. Why would Satan be allowed a long period of time to "deceive the nations" rather than a short amount of time.
The "little time" ("mikros chronos") of Rev 20:3 directly quotes the same phrase from Isaiah 54:7

According to the publicly accessible "Asbury" commentary for that chapter of Isaiah:

The prophet draws a comparison with the days of Noah where chaos temporarily reigned (the exile was referred to as a time of chaos), only to be followed by an everlasting covenant.

Now, in direct address to Zion, Yahweh details his future plans for his beloved city. It is language that can be described only as eschatological, for it transcends the realm of historical reality. There will be no need of priests, for the Lord himself will teach Zion’s children. And the city will be safe from any and every oppressor.

Note the 2 Peter 3:10 connections to "Noah" as well as the direct reference to the "beloved city".

NB: Biblical chronology dates the "Flood of Noah" to the Piora Oscillation circa 5000 years ago, which was a major Climatic fluctuation which almost "tipped" earth back into an Ice Age. So, you could associate Noah's Flood with "water & cold". Cp. Climatic hype today claiming the present is a time of "tipping" into an opposite regime of "heat & fire"
 
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Presbyterian Continuist

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Who knows? Why is that important? Where do people even get the notion of dating anything from Eden in the first place?
We don't know how long Adam and Eve were in Eden before they disobeyed God and were cast out. The dating of the length of Adam's life started when he was cast out of the garden. He was immortal before that, so his life did not start to run down toward old age and death until then.
 
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Erik Nelson

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Who knows? Why is that important? Where do people even get the notion of dating anything from Eden in the first place?
Satan has plagued humanity since Eden, for many thousands of years

Compared to that, a few centuries is a "short time"
 
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eclipsenow

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Satan has plagued humanity since Eden, for many thousands of years

Compared to that, a few centuries is a "short time"
Granted. And as I have admitted previous, yes there are many respectable Amils who think there are some future prophesies still to be fulfilled, and the 'sharpening' of persecution at the end during this 'little season' is one such prophecy. I'm not in that group, but more in the Sydney Anglican group of Amils that think EVERY Old Testament promise was fulfilled in Jesus gospel events - but in eschatological tension. That is, we are now reigning with Christ, now in God's kingdom, now see Satan defeated as the gospel goes forth, now see all sin judged on the cross - but all in eschatological tension and foreshadows of the reality to come. When Jesus returns, all enemies of God will be judged once and for all, and his kingdom will be brought into fulness.

(PS: Side-topic, but philosopher, theologian and apologist Dr William Lane Craig thinks Adam and Eve may have been the first humans like 750,000 to 1 million years ago - not just a few thousand.)
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Daniel Martinovich

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  1. Revelation 20:2
    And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
  2. Revelation 20:3
    And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
WHY A THOUSAND YEARS AND NOT FIVE HUNDRED?

your thoughts please
This is from my book about to be published. The Bible's Prophecies about the Free World.


The Promised Age in Revelation 20

Revelation 20:1And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

The thousand-year reign is an illustration of that great mountain that fills the whole earth, which Daniel chapters 2 and 7 say would follow the end of the fourth empire. The Bible uses and interprets that mountain as the kingdom of God in many places. Using a thousand years to illustrate that kingdom is unique to the Book of Revelation and throws most people off track.

Satan being bound in these verses is an illustration of Satan not having the influence or sway he had before this time. That is why there is a free world that is growing. Satan does not have the influence and power he used to have to stop it. To understand this, one must first have a comprehension of the Bible’s teaching on this subject. In Genesis 3:1–7, Satan’s presence in the garden is not an example of Satan being loosed on the earth. He was not loosed into the earth until Eve accepted his lie and Adam choose to not oppose the lie she had accepted. The same scenario is repeated by their descendants in the following verses.

Genesis 4:6 And the LORD said to Cain, Why are you angry? and why is your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, shall you not be accepted? and if you do not well, sin lies at the door. And to you shall be his desire, and you shall rule over him.

Later in the chapter, Cain kills his brother. That is another example of Satan being loosed on the earth by humans who are the sons and daughters of God. Neither God or his angels loosed Satan in the earth. Human beings had the power to reject the lies, which would have bound Satan’s influence over them. Yet the whole race of humankind followed the path Adam and Eve put them on.

Jesus, who is the second Adam in 1 Corinthians 15:45–47, did the opposite. When the devil came to him with his lies in Matthew 4:1–11, he rejected the lies with quotes from God’s Word. Satan was bound in the life of Jesus, as he stated in the following verse.

John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world comes, and has nothing in me.

Can you see the correlation between Jesus quoting the truth of God’s written Word to bind Satan and the premise of this book? Do you see that it took God’s written Word getting into the hands of the general population for this promised era to begin? Satan is bound when human beings accept the truths of God’s Word, which are contrary to the lies of Satan. Those are what the chains in this prophecy symbolize. This is true for sinners and saints, cultures, and nations. Another example of this may be seen in Luke 10:17–18:

17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject to us through your name. 18 And he said to them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

In Jesus’s vision, Satan falling from heaven is symbolic of him losing his power over people. This happened in response to the seventy going out and preaching the gospel with power. People accepted the truth, and Satan lost his power over them, or was “chained.” He wasn’t bound because they prayed and fasted, He wasn’t bound because they prophesied or commanded him to be bound. He wasn’t bound because prophetic pronouncements and declarations were made. All of those things have their place, but ultimately, he was bound when the people heard and accepted the truth.

The rest of this prophecy will be quite hard for some to comprehend because of the way it is being illustrated. The apostle John is not interpreting this for us. He is writing down what he sees and hears. It is not easy to tell a story, especially when the story is a prophecy of future happenings using pictures. How do you tell a story using pictures of the world gradually coming under greater degrees of heaven’s influence and smaller degrees of Satan’s influence? How can you teach people that the degree to which God is influencing a nation is the degree to which Satan is not, and vice versa, with pictures? Then, on top of that, how can you present it as a prophecy of a never-ending time period? That is what is being done in this prophecy. If the thousand years is a measurement of anything, it is a measurement of influence rather than a measurement of time. The degree to which heaven is influencing a nation or the world is the same degree to which Satan is or is not bound. The degree to which heaven is not influencing a culture, nation, or the world is the degree to which Satan is loosed, or unchained. Here is how this is presented in the next verses:

20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark on their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

This is the judgment of the saints becoming dominant in the world. It starts by repeating Daniel 7’s prophecy about the Messiah’s kingdom and the saints judging the world once the fourth empire ends.

Daniel 7:22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

1 Corinthians 6:2 Don’t not know that the saints shall judge the world?

What this means is that in this promised age, it is the saints’ judgment of truth and right versus wrong that will prevail. It will be the dominant influence in the world among many other influences. That is why this passage is using the saints of old and thrones. It is the Word of God that they wrote and preached that is enthroned. It’s the word of their testimony, the principles they lived by, that are now the gold standard of right behavior, human relationships to God and one another, and good government. This is what we have seen growing in the world over the last five hundred years. It is the reason we even have a free world.

20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Verse 5 is contextually connected to verse 4. The reason those in verse 4 live is that the kingdom of God, symbolized here by a thousand years, has touched them. They are the saints from the past that are now in heaven. They are alive in Christ, and what they had sown into the world while they lived on earth will now begin to prevail. What verse 5 means is that the dead, those who are without Christ, will not live until the kingdom of God, represented by a thousand years, touches them also. That is the meaning of the passage when it says that the rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years were fulfilled. When the kingdom of God, symbolized by a thousand years, touches the dead and they live, this is fulfilled. This prophecy says the rest of the dead in the nations of the world previously untouched by that kingdom, by that thousand years, will now be touched and live. This is exactly as we have been witnessing over the last five-hundred years to a much larger degree than the previous fourteen-hundred years. The “first resurrection” is a reference to what Jesus often stated:

John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death to life.
 
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eclipsenow

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This is from my book about to be published. The Bible's Prophecies about the Free World.
Except that John was writing to his generation of suffering Christians for the time is 'near', 'soon', and he wanted THEM to hear this word from God and take it to heart (obey it.) Hard to obey something that's about 2000 years away!

Imagine a message about 4000 AD - "On Mars most red, the Vlorg will come - they'll eat the Farnargles and encage some." NOW OBEY THIS! :doh:

Using a thousand years to illustrate that kingdom is unique to the Book of Revelation and throws most people off track.
Not at all! 1000 is often used for a 'very long time'.

Psalm 50: "I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills."

= Is the literal futurist really going to argue that God only owns a thousand hills? What about the other million or so on Earth?

Deuteronomy 1:11 - "11 May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised!"

= God was only going to grow his people a thousand times - from the literal number of people standing before Moses that day? What happened to more than the stars in the sky and grains of sand on a beach?

Psalm 91:7 - "A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you."

= Is it a thousand or ten-thousand? Is it a gazillion or ten gazillion?

Isaiah 60:22 - "The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation."

= You mean there are limits on God's kingdom - it will ONLY grow 1000 times in size from Isaiah's lifetime?

Judges 15:16 - "Then Samson said, “With a donkey’s jawbone I have made donkeys of them. With a donkey’s jawbone I have killed a thousand men.”

= I love this one - as I've been a soldier. The image of a Sampson having a bookkeeper counting his kills is just hilarious. "997, 998, 999, 1000 - that's it Sampson! You're done for the day! Stand down Sampson - I'm writing this down!"

Job 9:3 - "Though they wished to dispute with him, they could not answer him one time out of a thousand."

= Could Job's 'friends' actually answer his suffering 1 time in a thousand, or is the emphasis of this story that they had NO answers - only God had the authority to answer Job (and decided not to tell Job the real reason anyway. Job was just to trust God anyway, without an answer!)

GOD AND TIME SEEMS TO ALWAYS BE SYMBOLIC:-

Deuteronomy 7:9 - "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments."

= Is the literal futurist really bold enough to insist God is only faithful for a thousand generations? A generation was 40 years - so in 40,000 years God is unfaithful!!!???

Psalm 105:8 - "He remembers his covenant FOREVER, the promise he made, for a THOUSAND generations"

= Well, which is it? Forever, or a thousand generations / 40,000 years?

Psalms 84:10 - "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked."

= Is one day with God’s people better than 1000 literal days or 2.7 years, or is this a qualitative assessment of how it is better to just invest your time with God? Is this verse actually equating ANY period of time with the wicked as beneficial to you?
 
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Daniel Martinovich

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Except that John was writing to his generation of suffering Christians for the time is 'near', 'soon', and he wanted THEM to hear this word from God and take it to heart (obey it.) Hard to obey something that's about 2000 years away!

Imagine a message about 4000 AD - "On Mars most red, the Vlorg will come - they'll eat the Farnargles and encage some." NOW OBEY THIS! :doh:


Not at all! 1000 is often used for a 'very long time'.

Psalm 50: "I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills."

= Is the literal futurist really going to argue that God only owns a thousand hills? What about the other million or so on Earth?

Deuteronomy 1:11 - "11 May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised!"

= God was only going to grow his people a thousand times - from the literal number of people standing before Moses that day? What happened to more than the stars in the sky and grains of sand on a beach?

Psalm 91:7 - "A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you."

= Is it a thousand or ten-thousand? Is it a gazillion or ten gazillion?

Isaiah 60:22 - "The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation."

= You mean there are limits on God's kingdom - it will ONLY grow 1000 times in size from Isaiah's lifetime?

Judges 15:16 - "Then Samson said, “With a donkey’s jawbone I have made donkeys of them. With a donkey’s jawbone I have killed a thousand men.”

= I love this one - as I've been a soldier. The image of a Sampson having a bookkeeper counting his kills is just hilarious. "997, 998, 999, 1000 - that's it Sampson! You're done for the day! Stand down Sampson - I'm writing this down!"

Job 9:3 - "Though they wished to dispute with him, they could not answer him one time out of a thousand."

= Could Job's 'friends' actually answer his suffering 1 time in a thousand, or is the emphasis of this story that they had NO answers - only God had the authority to answer Job (and decided not to tell Job the real reason anyway. Job was just to trust God anyway, without an answer!)

GOD AND TIME SEEMS TO ALWAYS BE SYMBOLIC:-

Deuteronomy 7:9 - "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments."

= Is the literal futurist really bold enough to insist God is only faithful for a thousand generations? A generation was 40 years - so in 40,000 years God is unfaithful!!!???

Psalm 105:8 - "He remembers his covenant FOREVER, the promise he made, for a THOUSAND generations"

= Well, which is it? Forever, or a thousand generations / 40,000 years?

Psalms 84:10 - "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked."

= Is one day with God’s people better than 1000 literal days or 2.7 years, or is this a qualitative assessment of how it is better to just invest your time with God? Is this verse actually equating ANY period of time with the wicked as beneficial to you?

You said an awful lot to say nothing. None of those are prophecies about the Kingdom of God that was prophesied to fill the whole earth when the fourth empire of the age of the four empires ends. The thousand years is a prophecy of that great mountain, the invisible kingdom of god filling the whole earth.
Whcih was my entire point which you object to because it does not fit the preterist tom foolery about the whole book of Revelation being fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem.

Also from my book.
Revelation 22:6 And he said to me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show to his servants the things which must shortly be done. 7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keeps the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

I would like to comment on verse 7 of chapter 22 before I finish Revelation. The very first sentence of the book of Revelation says the same thing. "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show to his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel to his servant John."

My guess is that if you have read this whole book up to this point you have grasped the Bible's own context about its own prophecy. Some errant prophecy teachings capitalize on the phrases "must shortly come to pass, or be done." Their error is that they try to contextualize the book of Revelation into those two verses because they are unaware of the Bible's context of its prophecy. Since the destruction of Jerusalem is now just some three years away judging from when John received this vision according to Revelation 17:10, -they claim that the entirety of Revelation was fulfilled with he destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. After all Jesus said in verse 7 that he comes quickly, right? The obvious problem is that you cannot create a context for the entire book based on these two verses and the fact that Jesus was about to return to oversee the judgment against Jerusalem, and save his saints from the calamity.

Keeping to the context of the Bible's prophecy, what these two verses mean is God is showing his servants the things that are about to come to pass shortly in the Bibles prophecy, verses the things that are not. What has to be understood about real prophecy is it is not just showing us the divine nature of the Bible. It is practical in nature. Meant to give his people a heads up on things that are going to happen so they can navigate the times and seasons. Let me use the destruction of Jerusalem as an example. Here we have had all these prophecies about ten Roman emperors and a time period that to them could mean 1260 days. Well, if you were a prophetic person back then and you just lived through terrible things Jesus prophesied that would lead up to the destruction of Jerusalem. If you were looking at the prophecies of the promised age that are in this book would you not be counting emperors looking for that magic number of ten? Might you not want to believe that a brief war of 1260 days followed by the coming of the Lord to usher in the promised age was on the horizon? Is that not what we do as human beings, look at prophecy in a way that is favorable to us? Now all of a sudden John gets this prophecy known to us as the book of Revelation that says the eighth emperor is the son of perdition and the ten in Daniel lay out ahead somewhere after of the first eight. See that? Now the parts of the Bibles prophecy that are shortly going to come to pass are clarified and the things that are way out beyond their lifetimes are revealed as such. That is the practical nature of real prophecy and that is the context of shortly coming to pass. God is revealing and separating what will shortly come to pass verses what is a long way off in the Bible's prophecy to his saints back then, and us who have 20\20 hindsight.
 
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Daniel Martinovich

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Except that John was writing to his generation of suffering Christians for the time is 'near', 'soon', and he wanted THEM to hear this word from God and take it to heart (obey it.) Hard to obey something that's about 2000 years away!

Imagine a message about 4000 AD - "On Mars most red, the Vlorg will come - they'll eat the Farnargles and encage some." NOW OBEY THIS! :doh:


Not at all! 1000 is often used for a 'very long time'.

Psalm 50: "I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills."

= Is the literal futurist really going to argue that God only owns a thousand hills? What about the other million or so on Earth?

Deuteronomy 1:11 - "11 May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised!"

= God was only going to grow his people a thousand times - from the literal number of people standing before Moses that day? What happened to more than the stars in the sky and grains of sand on a beach?

Psalm 91:7 - "A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you."

= Is it a thousand or ten-thousand? Is it a gazillion or ten gazillion?

Isaiah 60:22 - "The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation."

= You mean there are limits on God's kingdom - it will ONLY grow 1000 times in size from Isaiah's lifetime?

Judges 15:16 - "Then Samson said, “With a donkey’s jawbone I have made donkeys of them. With a donkey’s jawbone I have killed a thousand men.”

= I love this one - as I've been a soldier. The image of a Sampson having a bookkeeper counting his kills is just hilarious. "997, 998, 999, 1000 - that's it Sampson! You're done for the day! Stand down Sampson - I'm writing this down!"

Job 9:3 - "Though they wished to dispute with him, they could not answer him one time out of a thousand."

= Could Job's 'friends' actually answer his suffering 1 time in a thousand, or is the emphasis of this story that they had NO answers - only God had the authority to answer Job (and decided not to tell Job the real reason anyway. Job was just to trust God anyway, without an answer!)

GOD AND TIME SEEMS TO ALWAYS BE SYMBOLIC:-

Deuteronomy 7:9 - "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments."

= Is the literal futurist really bold enough to insist God is only faithful for a thousand generations? A generation was 40 years - so in 40,000 years God is unfaithful!!!???

Psalm 105:8 - "He remembers his covenant FOREVER, the promise he made, for a THOUSAND generations"

= Well, which is it? Forever, or a thousand generations / 40,000 years?

Psalms 84:10 - "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked."

= Is one day with God’s people better than 1000 literal days or 2.7 years, or is this a qualitative assessment of how it is better to just invest your time with God? Is this verse actually equating ANY period of time with the wicked as beneficial to you?
A simple timeline of the Bibles end time prophecy? From the beginning of The Age of the Gentiles, (the four gentile empires;) when Nebuchadnezzar first conquered Judea until Titus, the prince of Daniel 9:26 is 666 years. 597 BC to 70 AD, (no year -0-). The next emperor after Titus is the first of the ten emperors prophesied is Daniel 7:7,24, Revelation 12:3, 13:1 & 17:3,12. By the way, Revelation 17:11 is Titus.

The little horn of Daniel 7:8, 24-25 is the eleventh of the ten emperors following Titus, Septimius Serverus. From the first year of his reign, 193 AD to the end of the Roman Empire is 1260 years. That number is mentioned first in Daniel 7:25 in regards to the saints being given into the hands of that empire for that amount of time. Then also in Revelation 13:5, 12:6,14 &11:1,3. The Roman Empire and The Age of the Gentiles ended in 1453 AD. From that time forward the hundred plus chapters of Bible prophecy about our present free world began to come to pass. How and why? Because that is exactly when the Bible, for the first time in human history started to make its way into the hands of the general public, in their own languages. Plus, without the powers that existed being able to take it away from them. They certainly tried.

The growing free world is exactly what this prophecy said would happen once the general population began to gain access to the Bible.

Isaiah 29:18 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.19 The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. 20 For the terrible one (kings, emperors, warlords, conquerors) is brought to nothing, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off: 21That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproves in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nothing.

Or just as this prophecy said:
Isaiah 55:10 For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and returns not thither, but waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:11 So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.12 For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

in a few months my new book will be out. "The Bibles Prophecy About The Free World." It points out a bunch of the more prominent chapters of prophecy about the world we now live in and the failing resistance to the free worlds growth.
 
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eclipsenow

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You said an awful lot to say nothing. None of those are prophecies about the Kingdom of God that was prophesied to fill the whole earth when the fourth empire of the age of the four empires ends.
Just showing that 1000 is a symbolic number that means a long time.


The thousand years is a prophecy of that great mountain, the invisible kingdom of god filling the whole earth.
No it isn't - it's describing anyone who was slaughtered by Romans 2000 years ago, and indeed any martyrs until this day! It also shows how Jesus is reigning over the events on earth even as the martyred saints gather in heaven. In other words, Revelation 20 started 2000 years ago!

Jesus reign in the NT might be a bit alien and different to how we imagine it. We imagine rulers that conjure up images of kings and military victories. But we worship a king who died on a cross. So what does his reign look like, and is he already reigning?

Ephesians 1: "That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way."

So Jesus reigns now and in the future age, and the church is his kingdom.

Or try Colossians 2:9 "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority" He’s the head over every authority - right now - giving the church fullness.

Acts 2:29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ ****“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.

Jesus sits on DAVID’S THRONE - from the Father’s right hand - which means what they thought of as “David’s throne” is in heaven.

1 Peter 2:9 ”But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." The church is God’s people living God’s way as priests and a holy nation. He rules us now, even as we also serve our masters and governments with godly living. (See rest of 1 Peter)

Even Revelation itself shows us this duality of Jesus reigning in the "now but not yet" phase of kingdom rule through the church.

Revelation 5: “And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

He rules now - through us as his representative kingdom of priests - priests who bring God to man.

The rest of Revelation shows the Lord’s return on Judgement Day in a number of passages from a number of angles - so Revelation is definitely reminding us of the gospel promise that God’s kingdom will be MORE than this one day. But for now? The message to God’s people is hang in there - continue being his Kingdom and Priests because the world needs you!

The Amil reading of 'the millennium' in Chapter 20 of Revelation is true to how the rest of the New Testament pictures Jesus reign. It’s also true to how the whole bible uses 1000 symbolically when it refers to theological concepts like God’s faithfulness and his relationship to history. Jesus reigns now, from heaven, but is also not yet returned to judge this world and bring the New Heavens and New Earth. But we must be patient with faithful endurance in the meantime. More here from the Bible Project. (6 minutes - 3.1 MILLION views.)

More here on the past, present and future of the kingdom. The Kingdom of God - The Gospel Coalition
 
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Daniel Martinovich

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Just showing that 1000 is a symbolic number that means a long time.

No it isn't - it's describing anyone who was slaughtered by Romans 2000 years ago, and indeed any martyrs until this day! It also shows how Jesus is reigning over the events on earth even as the martyred saints gather in heaven. In other words, Revelation 20 started 2000 years ago!

Jesus reign in the NT might be a bit alien and different to how we imagine it. We imagine rulers that conjure up images of kings and military victories. But we worship a king who died on a cross. So what does his reign look like, and is he already reigning?

Ephesians 1: "That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way."

So Jesus reigns now and in the future age, and the church is his kingdom.

Or try Colossians 2:9 "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority" He’s the head over every authority - right now - giving the church fullness.

Acts 2:29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ ****“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.

Jesus sits on DAVID’S THRONE - from the Father’s right hand - which means what they thought of as “David’s throne” is in heaven.

1 Peter 2:9 ”But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." The church is God’s people living God’s way as priests and a holy nation. He rules us now, even as we also serve our masters and governments with godly living. (See rest of 1 Peter)

Even Revelation itself shows us this duality of Jesus reigning in the "now but not yet" phase of kingdom rule through the church.

Revelation 5: “And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

He rules now - through us as his representative kingdom of priests - priests who bring God to man.

The rest of Revelation shows the Lord’s return on Judgement Day in a number of passages from a number of angles - so Revelation is definitely reminding us of the gospel promise that God’s kingdom will be MORE than this one day. But for now? The message to God’s people is hang in there - continue being his Kingdom and Priests because the world needs you!

The Amil reading of 'the millennium' in Chapter 20 of Revelation is true to how the rest of the New Testament pictures Jesus reign. It’s also true to how the whole bible uses 1000 symbolically when it refers to theological concepts like God’s faithfulness and his relationship to history. Jesus reigns now, from heaven, but is also not yet returned to judge this world and bring the New Heavens and New Earth. But we must be patient with faithful endurance in the meantime. More here from the Bible Project. (6 minutes - 3.1 MILLION views.)

More here on the past, present and future of the kingdom. The Kingdom of God - The Gospel Coalition
So your just going to ignore the prophecies of the four named empires and the end of the last one as having anything to do with any kind of line of demarcation in the times and seasons of the Bibles prophecy?
 
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eclipsenow

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So your just going to ignore the prophecies of the four named empires and the end of the last one as having anything to do with any kind of line of demarcation in the times and seasons of the Bibles prophecy?
Not ignore - just put in their proper context. Most OT prophecies are about OT empires leading up to Rome and Jesus. Only a very few hint at what God's eternal kingdom / heaven will be like.
 
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Daniel Martinovich

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Not ignore - just put in their proper context. Most OT prophecies are about OT empires leading up to Rome and Jesus. Only a very few hint at what God's eternal kingdom / heaven will be like.
That is just not true. There are well over a hundred chapters of prophecy in the OT about that eternal (invisible) kingdom. There are in fact a couple dozen chapters in the OT about the New Jerusalem in Revelation which is an illustration of Gods people in a transforming world. The OT prophecy on it lays it out as the persecuted and oppressed New Jerusalem during the age of the four gentile empires and promises a free and more just world that the New Jerusalem, God's people thrive in and their influnce dominates.Have another look at this prophecy first:
Isaiah 29:18 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.19 The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. 20 For the terrible one (kings, emperors, warlords, conquerors) is brought to nothing, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off: 21That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproves in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nothing.
It directly prophecies when the poor masses get the Bible that will start the process of the end of kings and emperors, warlords and dictators ruling the earth as they had for 7000 years. That began to happen right when the Roman Emporium ended in 1453 with the invention of the printing press. The Bible illegally made it into the hands of the general public in northern Europe which was a historical first followed by a second historical first. The powers that existed could not conquer all the geographical areas where people now possessed and read their own Bibles. The thinking that developed there migrated to north America. That was the start of the free world. Here is a chapter from my upcoming book about these prophecies.

Isaiah 54

Let’s see what the apostle Paul said about the first verse in Isaiah 54.

Galatians 4:22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a female slave, the other by a free woman. 23 But he who was of the female slave was born after the flesh; but he of the free woman was by promise. 24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which engenders to bondage, which is Hagar. 25 For this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to [illustrates] Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written, Rejoice, you barren that bore not; break forth and cry, you that travail not: for the desolate has many more children than she which has an husband. 28 Now we, brothers, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

Verse 27 of Galatians 4 is the first verse in Isaiah 54, which Paul is quoting.

Isaiah 54:1 Sing, O barren, you that did not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you that did not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, said the LORD.

The way he is interpreting it is that the Mosaic law and the physical city of Jerusalem were the married wife that bore many children. The people of faith, though few and, for most of the history of ancient Israel, persecuted and murdered by the faithless—these are the children of the desolate woman. However, with the coming of the Messiah, the desolate woman would bear more children than the earthly city would. They are referred to as the children of the heavenly Jerusalem. The rest of the prophecy in Isaiah 54 will say more of this.

54:2 Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of your habitations: spare not, lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes; 3 For you shall break forth on the right hand and on the left; and your descendants shall inherit the Nations, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

This is truly amazing prophecy exhorting the faithful with the promise that lay ahead. It says the people of faith, soon to be of all nations, will grow and expand, eventually inheriting the nations. The fruit of this will be prosperous civilizations which is what the the desolate cities will be inhabitedfrom verse 3 means.

54:4 Fear not; for you shall not be ashamed: neither be you confounded; for you shall not be put to shame: for you shall forget the shame of your youth, and shall not remember the reproach of your widowhood any more. 5 For your Maker is your husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and your Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. 6 For the LORD has called you as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when you were refused, said your God. 7 For a small moment have I forsaken you; but with great mercies will I gather you. 8 In a little wrath I hid my face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on you, said the LORD your Redeemer. 9 For this is as the waters of Noah to me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with you, nor rebuke you. 10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from you, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, said the LORD that has mercy on you.

In these verses, believers are being depicted as the wife of God. The shame and the reproach of her youth and her being forsaken is a reference to the tribulations the believers in ancient Israel faced. It seemed as if they were forsaken by God and left to the whims of the wicked, who were often a majority of its citizens and its leaders, and then later at the hands of the Gentiles. It mattered not how they lived their lives before the Lord. They reaped whatever the despots who ran the world sowed. This certainly did not change in New Testament times and for many a century beyond that. Yet in the context of a despotic, idolatrous world—a world full of sorrows, tears, slavery, short life spans, and destitution—they were exhorted with promises in the form of prophecy about what lay ahead. Verse 5 says why this will happen—because the God of ancient Israel, who to the rest of the world was a small tribal god among thousands of other tribal gods, a god of such little note that he is not even included in the Greek or Roman pantheons, will one day be called the God of the whole earth. That means the whole world will someday call him the one real God. They will no longer remember the idols of the ancient world. Half the world calls him that already, voluntarily. No one is forcing that on them. It is not that half the world’s population is heaven-bound, saved, or even claims Christianity—not at all. It is just that they know that there is only one God, and he is the God of the Bible.

54:11 O you afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay your stones with fair colors, and lay your foundations with sapphires. 12 And I will make your windows of agates, and your gates of carbuncles, and all your borders of pleasant stones.

It is important to pay special attention to verses 11-12. They are indirectly quoted in John’s revelation about the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:18-21. You will see many more direct quotes about Revelation’s New Jerusalem as we go on in the next chapters. Let’s go back a little bit before we go on and notice some other things that tie this into Revelation’s New Jerusalem. In Galatians 4:26, Paul calls this the heavenly Jerusalem. John says the New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven from God in Revelation 21:2,10. Isaiah 54:5 calls this heavenly Jerusalem God’s wife. It is the same in Revelation 21:2,10. The New Jerusalem is called the bride prepared for her husband and the Bride of Christ. These are all illustrations of faithful believers. Paul also verifies this in Galatians 4:26 by illustrating this heavenly Jerusalem as the mother of us all. What he means by this is that the OT prophets, patriarchs, and all the saints are illustratively the mother of all those being saved in NT times. God is the father of all of them.

54:13 And all your children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of your children. 14 In righteousness shall you be established: you shall be far from oppression; for you shall not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near you.

In these verses, we can see the complete transition from the beginning of the chapter of God’s saints living in a despotic world to the free world. They spent millennia living by faith under intense persecution and murder with a promise that someday the world would see an age of freedom and justice. Their world of sorrows, destitutions, and afflictions, because of its sin and the control of the wicked, would pass away.

Let’s look at these verses a little closer. Verse 13 is about all the children of this heavenly Jerusalem being taught by the Lord. That was nearly impossible to do when the people themselves did not have access to the Word of God. This did not begin to occur in the world until the Roman Empire fell in AD 1453. That was when what had been its capital since AD 333, Constantinople, was conquered and the last Roman emperor was killed. The end of that empire is the line of demarcation in the Bible’s prophecy between the despotic ancient world and the promised age. From that point begins a period during which the invisible kingdom of God’s influence begins to fill the earth to the degree that these promises and prophecies can take place. The Bible contains no prophecies about this era’s end.

“In righteousness shall you be established …” (54:14). Examining verse 14 a little more closely, we see that for any of this to happen, there had to be some kind of cultural and political change so that nations could be founded “in righteousness,” meaning there had to be nations that were founded in various degrees of some biblical principle—for instance, the United States with its constitution. You can see the effects of this in the rest of the verse: “… you shall be far from oppression; for you shall not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near you” (54:14).

This is not just prophecy anymore. This is the free world’s reality on the ground, as long as that reality is compared to the ancient world’s horrors. For true believers, this was never realized in any consistent way outside of today’s free world. Those in league with the Almighty were the major force in creating and maintaining it. We who speak as US citizens know nothing of the oppression, fear, and terror that was the constant state of believers in the ancient world. Obviously, large parts of today’s world have yet to go through this process, but that does not diminish the regions that have already done so.

54:15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whoever shall gather together against you shall fall for your sake. 16 Behold, I have created the smith that blows the coals in the fire, and that brings forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. 17 No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, said the LORD.

These verses clearly affirm this is not a prophecy about some kind of supernatural utopia that so many believe the Bible teaches will come on the earth. The passage states that there will be opposition to the free world that is created in league with the Almighty, similar to the opposition to ancient Israel. It means that nations, people, and political parties will rise up against this free world and the biblical principles it’s founded upon to conquer it. Yet the promise to be embraced by faith, as I exhorted in the introduction, is that they will fall for our sake. This is exactly what has been happening for over five hundred years now. The nations that are the most influenced by the gospel and God’s Word have been dominant according to every measure, economically, militarily, and morally. Every evil empire, every dictatorship, and every political movement that has sought to conquer the free world has been judged and condemned by the righteous and failed. Yes, they have won battles. They have conquered some nations, killed hundreds of millions, and turned nations away from Bible-based Christianity. But even with all that, the free world, pressed on by God’s eternal people in heaven and earth, still grows. This has been occurring alongside, and as a result of, millions of people coming to Christ.

54:17: … This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, said the LORD.

The last half of verse 17 is also a key to understanding the Bible’s prophecy. It says that this is the heritage of the saints. What this means is that this is how the saints are to inherit the earth—that this ever-growing and expanding free world, how it came about, how it is maintained and grown, and the fruit of it as it is expressed in the last half of Isaiah 54, is the saint’s inheritance.

Psalm 37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait on the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. 1 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yes, you shall diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. 11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

These are a few more verses, some very well known, about the saints inheriting the earth. While these verses can be applied to all people of every generation, they are primarily speaking prophetically of the days when the kingdom of God bears the fruit of a free and, by comparison to the ancient world, much more just world. The modern Westerner who doubts that the world is a more just place than it was at any time in its past should read up on the Dalit of India. They are a good example of the state of most of humanity for its entire existence. Just as the slave classes of the Roman Empire were the first to come to Christ en masse, today the Dalit of India are coming to Christ en masse. Outside of the promise of eternal life, these promises in Isaiah 54 and the other chapters we will read are their hope for the future of their children’s children and their nation. So while this freedom to chart their own destinies and reap the fruits of their labors may not be a realistic hope for today’s generations of Dalit here on earth, it is certainly a hope that the Dalit who are now in heaven can rejoice in. They will live in heaven to see it coming to pass on earth for the generations of Dalit that are yet to be born. This is what has happened to many people groups to whom the gospel was first preached. The next passage is speaking of the Messiah:

Isaiah 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; my elect, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit on him: he shall bring forth justice to the Gentiles. 2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoldering wick shall he not quench: he shall bring forth justice to truth. 4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he has set justice in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
 
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Timtofly

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I don't know if it's possible for anyone to answer the question of why a thousand and not five hundred years? But I do know a thousand years equates to TIME. And according to Scripture once the thousand years should be fulfilled this specific amount of TIME ends. That happens according to Rev 10 when the seventh angel begins to sound the trumpet signaling the mystery of God is finished.

Revelation 10:5-7 (KJV) And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

What is left once the thousand years should be no longer, and the mystery of God should be finished? According to Rev 20 after the thousand years should be fulfilled Satan is loosed for a little season.

Revelation 20:3 (KJV) And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

In order to understand the thousand years, we must learn what is the mystery of God declared to His servants the prophets that is finished when the seventh angel begins to sound that there should be time no longer? The following verses indicate the mystery of God that had been hidden, now revealed is that Gentiles would also be fellow heirs with Jews of faith as the Gospel is proclaimed unto all the nations.

Romans 11:25 (KJV) For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Romans 16:25-26 (KJV) Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

Ephesians 3:3-6 (KJV) How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

When we learn when the Gospel is effectively preached, and Gentiles of faith become part of the same body through His Gospel then we understand when the thousand years of TIME fit, and also understand this TIME ends with the beginning of Satan's little season. There is only one logical view for a thousand years. The thousand years symbolizes all TIME given for the Gospel to be sent unto all the earth, and that through it people in all the nations of the earth will believe and by grace through faith become members of the Kingdom of heaven.

To argue that TIME symbolized a thousand years is literally ONE thousand years after the seventh angel begins to sound causes utter confusion and contradiction.

Since the Gospel has been sent unto Gentile nations throughout the world and saving whosoever believes the only satisfactory understanding is that TIME is symbolized by a thousand years is goes from the first advent of Christ to Satan's little season.

Therefore, it is understood the thousand years symbolically represent TIME given the churches throughout the ages to build the Kingdom of heaven by grace through faith as people of all nations hear and believe. When the seventh angel begins to sound, we know TIME for building the Kingdom of heaven by the Gospel proclaimed has ended and Satan is set free for his one last assault against Christ and Christians but instead of success he and his minions will be killed by the fire of God that comes down from heaven.
Except the mystery to Israel was the 70 weeks, so that is one mystery that is brought to an end, the 70th week.

The mystery given to Moses and the Law deals with all humanity, and that is the gospel that restores Adam's disobedience. That punishment and mystery was 6,000 years in length. That is brought to an end in the 7th Trumpet.

Revelation 20 was given to the church, not to the prophets and law of the OT. Revelation 20 even comes after the 7th Trumpet. No one new about Revelation 20 before Revelation 10, unless they read Revelation backwards. So the 1,000 years is an impossible thing that comes to an end in Revelation 10. That 1,000 years will just be starting when the 7th Trumpet stops.

Is it your opinion that we should read Revelation backwards to get your opinion to work? If not, then why is it your opinion the 1,000 years is what is being mentioned in Revelation 10? It was not even announced at that point.

In fact some Amil go to great lengths to prove that 1,000 is not found any where else in Scripture. Thus modern man's "great mystery", not the mystery presented in the OT. Opinions would not be presented if they do not make sense, but most opinions are wrong, because they come from human interpretation, and not God's Word.

There is no changing Scripture to declare Jesus returns to earth as a King. There is no changing Scripture that Jesus brings an end to sin, and allows everlasting righteousness. The truth is evident in the reality of life, not in one's interpretation of Scripture.
 
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