Featured Will there be a "millenium" in which Jesus physically rules this earth?

Well, if you go too far one way anything and everything is up for grabs…i.e. symbolism/allegorizing everything. If you go too far the other way…everything is taken literal, then everything becomes stiff/rigid. I try to find that balance between the two, but in Revelation, what is to be taken literally and/or symbolic is tough for me.

 

How do you see these verses. What are they literally describing?

12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

 

Zechariah 14:3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

This has never happened in the history of the world.

Following that, God says that the Lord will be king over all the earth:

Zechariah 14:9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. 10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses. 11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

All surviving nations will come yearly to Jerusalem to worship the Lord as the King who will be ruling on the earth, and those who do not will be punished:

Zechariah 14:16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. 17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. 18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

There is no legitimate way to spiritualize Zechariah 14. Jesus as the Lord, the King over all the earth will rule physically in Jerusalem for 1000 years!

 

Did Jesus set foot on The mount of olives I the first century?
Where does this say 1000years?

 

Please point out the verse in Zechariah that mentions 1000 years? Mentions the Messiah?

Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 that He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. Did Jesus fail in His stated mission to fulfill the Law and the Prophets?

peace to you

 

Look carefully at what the passage says:

Zechariah 14:3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

Yes, Jesus set foot on the mount of Olives in the first century, but He never did so such that the entire mountain split in two.

Notice also that the text specifies that He does so after He has gone forth to fight against those nations that will attack Jerusalem. Jesus never did that in the first century--these events have never happened in world history.

 

Here you go: He Shall Have Dominion by Ken Gentry,

The Postmillennial Interpretation The siege of Jerusalem described in Zechariah 14:1–2 points to the AD 70 judgment upon Jerusalem.

J. Dwight Pentecost admits that the disciples who hear the Olivet Discourse would naturally apply Zechariah 14 to that event. But then, he says, such requires the confusing of God’s program for the church with that for Israel. So, he and other dispensationalists interpret the passage literalistically, with all the topographical and redemptive historical absurdities this creates. As they do this they totally omit any reference to the destruction of the very city and temple being rebuilt in Zechariah’s day. Yet this literal temple (the second temple) is destroyed in AD 70, as all agree.



Zechariah 14:1–2 pictures the Roman imperial forces joining the various client kings who engage the Jewish War AD 67–70. This war is 5. Weber in Blomberg and Chung, Historic Premillennialism, 15. 6. Pentecost, Thy Kingdom Come, 248. 524 He Shall Have Dominion conducted by an empire of “nations” (v 2), consisting not only of the Romans but the lands of Syria, Asia Minor, Palestine, Gaul, Egypt, Britain, and others. Client kings, such as Antiochus, Agrippa, Sohemus, Malchus, 7 and Alexander, provide auxiliary forces for Rome during the Jewish War (J.W. 2:18:9; 3:4:2; 5:1:6). The consequences are disastrous: much of Israel’s population is either killed or led captive. D. A. Carson observes that never was “so high a percentage of a great city so thoroughly and painfully exterminated and enslaved as during the Fall of Jerusalem.” Yet 8 the Lord defends those who are truly his people, insuring their escape from the besieged city (vv 3–4).

The Lord will fight for his true people “as when he fought in the day of battle” (v 4). The Lord’s feet standing on the Mount of Olives and his fighting for his people need be no more literal than other references regarding the Lord’s fighting for Israel in the Old Testament.
The language is similar to that in Joshua 10:14, 42 and 23:3, where the Lord “fought for Israel.” In Joshua these references indicate his providential favor in Israel’s victory and deliverance, not his corporeal presence. Prophecy often mentions God’s feet when his and Israel’s enemies are thwarted and are given success against all odds (Ps 18:9; Isa 60:13; Nah 1:3; Hab 3:5). The cleaving of the Mount of Olives under him employs the common imagery of God’s conquering and restraining power in Old Testament prophecy. In Micah 1:3–4 we read that “the LORD is coming out of His place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth. The mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.” Even dispensationalists admit this speaks of the Old Testament subjugation of Israel under heathen nations for her sin. Mentioning the direction of the cleft 9 “indicates the direction of their flight,” i.e., the Christians who flee Jerusalem when God judges it. They ultimately flee to all points of the 10 compass, taking the gospel with them (cf. vv 8–9). 7. Swain, Harper History of Civilization, 1:198. The Roman empire was composed of imperial provinces, senatorial provinces, and client kingdoms. 8. Carson, “Matthew,” 501. 9. John A. Martin, “Micah,” BKC, 1:1477. Walvoord, PKH, 301. Pentecost, Thy Kingdom Come, 111. 10. G. N. M. Collins, “Zechariah,” NBC, 761. Ch. 19: Biblical Objections 525 In the latter part of verse 5 the coming judgment upon Jerusalem, which disperses the Christians over the Roman Empire, is ultimately God’s coming in angelic judgment (“holy ones” are angels). Jerusalem’s destruction by Rome is providential destruction by “his armies” (Mt 22:7). It leads to darkness and woe upon Israel (Zec 14:6–7; cf. Ac 2:20, 22; Mt 24:29).

Yet, as Jerusalem collapses and Christianity separates from her Jewish constraints, the waters of life begin flowing out into all the world (v 8; cp. Mt 24:14; Ac 1:8; 9:15). The Lord’s kingdom overflows Israel’s limited borders so that the he becomes the King of all the earth (v 9; Mt 28:18–19; Eph 1:20–21).


The subsequent topographical and liturgical references figuratively portray the ethical and spiritual changes that occur under Christ’s spiritual administration as his worship spreads through the earth (vv 10ff ). 11 Even Jerusalem and the Jews shall be nourished by the waters of life eventually (vv 10–11; cf. Eze 47:1ff; Jn 7:38–39).

The enemies of God’s people will either be vanquished (vv 12–13, 14), converted (vv 16, 20–21), or reduced to insignificance (vv 14, 17–19).

The Feast of Tabernacles is mentioned, not as a literal reinstitution of the Old Testament feast, but as the ultimate hope pre-figured in that feast: the time of the full evangelical harvest (cf. Jn 4:35–38).

Those who do not convert will be reduced to servile labors, lacking the blessing of God (vv 17–19). Overall, however, the kingdom of God (represented here by a rejuvenated Jerusalem, cp. Gal 4:25–26; Heb 12:22; Rev 21:2) will be spread throughout the earth. All areas of life will be consecrated to the Lord: even the horses’ bells will contain the inscription written on the High Priest’s miter (vv 20–21).

 

This is absurd nonsense that refuses to believe what God says and spiritualizes whatever it wants to and needs to in order to support its desired interpretation. Further discussion is useless when the Bible is handled this way.

 

I do not think you took the time to actually look up the verses.

What does this describe? Try not to "spiritualize it"

12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
when does this take place?
Tell me what is being described?

 

Jesus Christ already started his reign in the heavens and will start his earthly rule during the One Thousand Year Reign after the Great Tribulation.

 

If it's true, it would be taught in the Bible without severing and butchering passages from their context.

Here’s the problem based on a Hal Lindsey Quote.

It shows how Dispensationalists take liberties with the Bible cutting and pasting text from all over the place to harmonize their scheme with today’s headline news.

Says Lindsey; "The prophecies can be pieced together to make a coherent picture, even though the pieces are scattered in small bits throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Hal Lindsey," 'The Late Great Planet Earth' 1970 (Chapter 4)
*Paradigms of Paranoia: The Culture of Conspiracy By Samuel Chase Coale

 

No thanks. You have already shown how you approach handling the Bible. I have no interest in continuing to discuss the Bible with people who handle it the way that you and others think is right.

 

Verse 13 is something they really need to look at. I’ve been told the sun is one of the smaller stars in outer space, yet it is way bigger than our planet. Now, if the stars of heaven fell to the earth, there is no way the earth would not be burned completely up. Shoot, the sun would burn it up in one second. Yet these stars of heaven, which are even bigger than the sun fall to the earth?

 

The oracle concerning Egypt

Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt;
The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence,
And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. “So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians;
And they will each fight against his brother and each against his neighbor,
City against city and kingdom against kingdom. “Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them;
And I will confound their strategy,
So that they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead
And to mediums and spiritists. “Moreover, I will deliver the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel master,
And a mighty king will rule over them,” declares the Lord God of hosts.[Psalm 19:1-4]

The Psalmist is using the exact type of apocalyptic language John used. Many times when it mentions the LORD coming in the cloud, it is in reference to impending judgment upon a nation.

 

"To interpret the passage literalistically, with all the topographical . . . absurdities this creates"

These are words befitting an unbeliever who denies the omnipotence of the true and living God, but they hardly manifest the sentiments of a believer who knows his Bible. There are no "absurdities" to holding that the glorified Christ will return to land with His feet on the Mount of Olives and cause the mountain to split in half when He does so. If anyone denies that He could or would do that, he has a bigger problem . . .

 

It does not say Jesus is on earth.It says the nations are.

 

Prove from the gospels Jesus preached a millennium. You need to twist Revelation from its context, adding to the word of God, to claim it.

 

Dispensation means distribution. They went to the dispensary for medicine, etc.