Checkpoint wrote:
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Replying to post 6 by Checkpoint]
But I will say, in reference to myth-one's response: See? I warned ya... Smile
You did.
Don't be too hard on him though.
I can think of others who flock to this issue.
It draws them like fish to water.
Ah well!
Yes, and it never ceases to amaze me that every single one thinks they have every bit of it right and everybody else has it totally wrong.
I'll offer this:
Christ has won the decisive victory over sin, death and Satan. By living a sinless life and by dying on the cross as the sacrifice of atonement for our sin, Christ defeated sin. By undergoing death and then victoriously rising from the grave, Christ defeated death. By resisting the devil’s temptations, by perfectly obeying God, and by his death and resurrection, Christ delivered a deathblow to Satan and his evil hosts. This victory of Christ’s was decisive and final. Because of the victory of Christ, the ultimate issues of history have already been decided. It is now only a question of time until that victory is brought to its final consummation.
The kingdom of God is both present and future. The kingdom of God is
not primarily a Jewish kingdom which involves the literal restoration of the throne of David. Christ did not "postpone" the establishment of the kingdom to the time of his future earthly millennial reign because of the unbelief of the Jews of his day. The kingdom of God was founded by Christ at the time of his sojourn on earth, is operative in history now and is destined to be revealed in its fullness in the life to come.
The kingdom of God is therefore both a present reality and a future hope. For example, when the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was coming, he replied, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, `Lo, here it is!’ or `There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you� (Lk. 17:20-21). But Jesus also taught that there was a sense in which the kingdom of God was still future, both in specific sayings (Mt. 7:21-23; 8:11-12) and in eschatological parables (such as those of the Marriage Feast, the Tares, the Talents, the Wise and Foolish Virgins). Paul also makes statements describing the kingdom as both present (Rom. 14:17; 1 Cor. 4:19-20; Col. 1:13-14) and future (1 Cor. 6:9; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5; 2 Tim. 4:18).
The fact that the kingdom of God is present in one sense and future in another implies that we who are the subjects of that kingdom
live in a kind of tension between the “already� and the “not yet.� We are already in the kingdom, and yet we look forward to the full manifestation of that kingdom; we already share its blessings, and yet we await its total victory. Because the exact time when Christ will return is not known, the church must live with a sense of urgency, realizing that the end of history may be very near. At the same time, however, the church must continue to plan and work for a future on this present earth which may still last a long time.
Though the last day is still future, we are in the last days now. This aspect of eschatology, which is often neglected in evangelical circles, is an essential part of the New Testament message.
To say “we are in the last days now� is to understand the expression “the last days� not merely as referring to the time just before Christ’s return, but as a description of the entire era between Christ’s first and second comings. New Testament writers were conscious of the fact that they were already living in the last days at the time they were speaking or writing. This was specifically stated by Peter in his sermon on the day of Pentecost when he quoted Joel’s prophecy about the pouring out of the Spirit upon all flesh in the last days (Acts 2:16-17). He was thus saying in effect, “We are now in the last days predicted by the prophet Joel.� Paul made the same point when he described believers of his day as those “upon whom the end of the ages has come� (1 Cor. 10:11). And the Apostle John told his readers that they were already living in “the last hour� (1 Jn. 2:18). In the light of these New Testament teachings, we may indeed speak of an inaugurated eschatology, while remembering that the Bible also speaks of a final consummation of eschatological events in what John commonly calls “the last day� (Jn. 6:39-40, 44,54; 11:24; 12:48).
The fact that we are living in the last days now implies that we are already tasting the beginnings of eschatological blessings—that, as Paul says, we already have “the first fruits of the Spirit� (Rom. 8:23). This means that we who are believers are to see ourselves not as impotent sinners who are helpless in the face of temptation but as new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), as temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19) and as those who have decisively crucified the flesh (Gal. 5:24), put off the old self and put on the new (Col. 3:9-10). All this involves having an image of ourselves which is primarily positive rather than negative. It also involves seeing fellow Christians as those who are in Christ with us and for whom we should therefore thank God.
Following from all this is that, as far as the thousand years of Revelation 20 are concerned, we are in the millennium now. The thousand years of Revelation 20 extend from the first coming of Christ to just before his Second Coming, when Satan will be loosed for a short time. This position on the thousand years of Revelation 20 implies that Christians who are now living are enjoying the benefits of this millennium since
Satan has been bound for the duration of this period. That Satan is now bound does not mean that he is not active in the world today but that during this period
he cannot deceive the nations — that is, cannot prevent the spread of the gospel.
The binding of Satan during this era, in other words, makes missions and evangelism possible. This should certainly be a source of encouragement to the church on earth.
During this same thousand-year period the souls of believers who have died are now living and reigning with Christ in heaven while they await the resurrection of the body. Their state is therefore a state of blessedness and happiness, though their joy will not be complete until their bodies have been raised. This should certainly bring comfort to those whose dear ones have died in the Lord.
The “signs of the times� have both present and future relevance. The return of Christ will be preceded by certain signs: for example, the preaching of the gospel to all the nations, the conversion of the fullness of Israel, the great apostasy, the great tribulation and the coming of the Antichrist. These signs, however, must not be thought of as referring exclusively to the time just preceding Christ’s return. They have been present in some sense from the very beginning of the Christian era and are present now. This means that we must always be ready for the Lord’s return and that we may never in our thoughts push the return of Christ off into the far-distant future. However, these “signs of the times� will have a climactic final fulfillment just before Christ returns. This fulfillment will not take the form of phenomena which are totally new but will rather be an intensification of signs which have been present all along.
At the time of Christ’s one return, there will be a general resurrection, both of believers and unbelievers; the resurrection of believers and that of unbelievers will not be separated by a thousand years. After the resurrection, believers who are then still alive shall suddenly be transformed and glorified. The basis for this teaching is what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52: “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed."
There will be a "rapture"
of sorts, but
not of the sort that the entire church will be taken up to heaven for a period of seven years while those still on earth are undergoing the great tribulation. Believers who have just been raised from the dead, together with living believers who have just been transformed, are now caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:17). Then follows the final judgment; scriptural evidence indicates only one Day of Judgment which will occur at the time of Christ’s return. All men must then appear before the judgment seat of Christ. After the judgment the final state is ushered in. Unbelievers and all those who have rejected Christ shall spend eternity in hell, whereas believers will enter into everlasting glory on the new earth.
The kingdom of God is central in human history. That kingdom was predicted and prepared for in Old Testament times, was established on earth by Jesus Christ, was extended and expanded both in New Testament times and during the subsequent history of the church, and will finally be consummated in the life to come. In all this, we have an inspiring vision of the lordship of Christ over history and of the ultimate triumph of his kingdom.
