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Is the millenium to be taken literal ?
mrsnacks:
I think it is only mentioned once in Scripture if I am correct. The thousand years wear Christ will rule on earth. Is this happening now or is it yet future ? If the future then I thought God's kingdom was spiritual and not physical. And if we rule with Him - why does He need us to help. Can't the Lord do it Himself ? Are we like the police ? Anyway I hope someone can explain - thanks.
Kat:
Hi mrsnacks,
I have 20 translations on my eSword, none of them use the word millenium in any scripture.
Millenium
MILLEN'IUM, n. [L. mille, a thousand, and annus, year.]
A thousand years; a word used to denote the thousand years.
So the word millenium is referring to a literal 1000 yrs., and the only scripture that referrs to Christ's rule as 1000 yrs is Rev. 20.
Rev 20:2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,
v. 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years were ended. After that he must be loosed for a little while.
v. 4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom judgment was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life, and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
I do not believe this is talking about a literal 1000 yrs.
Peter is talking about that very period of time, and here is what he says.
2Peter 3:7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
v. 8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
"one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." So what does this mean? I would think it is saying the amount of time is not important. But it does mean that it will be a definite period of time, just not a specific amount.
Now you ask.
--- Quote ---If the future then I thought God's kingdom was spiritual and not physical. And if we rule with Him - why does He need us to help. Can't the Lord do it Himself ?
--- End quote ---
It does have to be in the future, because it hasn't happened yet.
Psa 72:4 May he redress the humbled of the people; May he save the sons of the needy And crush the exploiter.
v. 5 He shall abide long as the sun And before the moon, generation after generations."
v. 6 He shall descend like rain on the grassland, Like showers, drenching the earth."
v. 7 Righteousness shall bud in His day, And abundant peace until the moon is no more."
v. 8 He shall hold sway from sea unto sea, And from the stream unto the limits of the earth.
Zec 9:10 I will cut off the chariot from E'phraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and He shall command peace to the nations; His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Rev 12:5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.
Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, says Jehovah, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and act wisely, and shall do judgment and justice in the earth.
As you can see from these scripture Christ is going to rule all the nations, on the earth. And this has not happened yet, but will be at His appearing or return.
2Th 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of His mouth and destroy him by His appearing and His coming.
2Ti 4:1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and His kingdom:
v. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing.
2Tim 2:11 The saying is sure: If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him;
v. 12 if we endure, we shall also reign with Him, He also will deny us;
Rev 5:10 And You made us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign over the earth.
Rev 19:6 ... Hallelujah! For the Lord God omnipotent reigns!
v. 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and we will give glory to Him. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has prepared herself.
v. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. For the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.
v. 9 And he said to me, Write, Blessed are those who have been called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true sayings of God.
v. 11 And I saw Heaven opened. And behold, a white horse! And He sitting on him was called Faithful and True. And in righteousness He judges and makes war.
v. 14 And the armies in Heaven followed Him on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
v. 15 And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, so that with it He should strike the nations. And He will shepherd them with a rod of iron. And He treads the winepress of the wine of the anger and of the wrath of Almighty God.
v. 16 And He has on His garment, and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
So if we try to think about all that this is saying, it is that Christ does return to earth to rule all the nations in judgment, with a rod of iron.
His saints-the chosen few-elect will have joined Him and return with Him, and reign with Him.
Now what will actually takes place when He is bringing all nations to submission, we can look at the scripture.
As it says back in Jere. 23:5 He will "reign and act wisely, and shall do judgment and justice in the earth." And in Rev. 19:15 "He should strike the nations. And He will shepherd them with a rod of iron. And He treads the winepress of the wine of the anger and of the wrath of Almighty God." And 2 Peter 3:7 "the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly."
He will be fearsome when He takes controll over the earth, He will force the nations to live in peace. Zec. 9:10 " and He shall command peace to the nations;"
The saints will be with Him, reigning on the earth, and "we will be like Him."
1John 3:2 Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
As for what will the saints will be doing, when Christ rules the earth? I think they are His arm and will be doing the same thing He is doing.
Isa 40:10 Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand,
And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.
mercy, peace, and love
Kat
gmik:
Great reply Kat. Helped me for sure!
DWIGHT:
Hey Gena, welcome back,
Kat, I agree, and yet there is the reality that all that you quoted is in the present. Even the thousand year reign of Christ and the church. The reason I say that is because of all the scriptures that state that He is, was, and will be. When we really grasp this phrase, and I don't think I have in full as of yet, but when we do, I think that our whole outlook on the scriptures will change, and everything will become applicable to our lives of today. I don't even look at the Old Testament as history any more, although it is history. We are Adam, Abel, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, etc. All of these stories and people are for our examples and so is Peter, Paul and John and the book of Revelation, everything is for us now...inside, in the spirit. There really is spirit behind every letter in the scriptures.
In Him,
Dwight
rocky:
Hi Dwight,
based on what you wrote re: the "is, was and will be", and that even the 1000 year reign is now, that would mean also that the resurrection is now, the LOF is now also. Based on this thinking, I don't see how there will ever be a linear progression of the ages, because all the ages are going on right now.
is this what you are saying?
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