This was addressed to Ed Edwards:Wrong poster Brother Bob! The poster with the pipe is Pipedude. Here's his picture:
According to what you have posted, the non-existent (since it is not a literal physical kingdom) millenial kingdom started at the cross (incidentally, I have no problem with most of this idea, thus far) but would have logically ended somewhere around 1030 A. D., which happens to be in the 'middle' of the Middle ages, roughly at the end of the period that is known as the Dark Ages. Now I have a few questions.
1. Uh- exactly what historical battle after that is that of Gog and Magog? Since Satan was to be loosed from the allegorical prison (can't be a real one, for that would seriously infringe on this quasi-Preterist/Amillenial/with a taste of Gnosticism and Arianism thrown in, for good measure, eschaology) at this time, to deceive the nations "for a little season", and gather them all together in one place, are you, perchance, referring to that 'Last Great
Battle'
of Hastings in 1066? Or maybe the battle in Spain, a few years later when the Muslim Moors were routed, and sent packing back to Northern Africa, from whence they came? And these are supposed to be battles where the army was so great that "no man could number" them?
C'mon. (How long of a "little season" do you need for your theology to work?
970 years, and counting? That's half of the entire "church age", already, and we are not there yet, for "a little season"? And I'm one of the ones who is supposedly stretching stuff, to arrive at my beliefs? Get real. The language of Scripture does not support this that you are suggesting, at all.) The accidental encounter of the Union and Confederate Armies right here in KY, during the Civil War, between the armies of Bragg and Buell, resulted in the Battle of Perryville, which had nearly as many casualties as Hastings, and the Battle of Gettysburg had the result of more missing and/or captured, than did the Battle of Hastings with easily five times the number of total casualties recorded.
And these were counts, not guesses.
2. What are we to do with all the specific prophecies that relate to a glorious "literal Kingdom" and reign on earth in the OT? (
skypair has posted a couple of lists of verses, on this, BTW.) The test of a 'Biblical' prophet was
whether what he prophesied came true, in which case he was 'declared to be a
'true' prophet, or, if the prophecy did not, in which case, he was declared to be a 'false' or 'lying' prophet, and he was summarily judged and cast out, up to being actually put to death (Deut. 13:1-5; Mt. 7:15-23; 24:10-13, 24; II Pet. 2:1-3; I Jo, 4:1-3,
et al.) , not whether or not it could somehow be "spiritualized" or "allegoricalized" into some other understanding. The Bible does not recognize anything like a Joseph Smith, a Jean Dixon, or a Charles Russell as a prophet.
3. Since the beast and false prophet were to be taken by Jesus, and personally, under His supervision, be cast alive into the lake of fire prior to the 1000 years (which, according to you, started at the cross) (Rev. 19:20-21; 20) - uh- who exactly were these two individuals?
4. Since Satan was to be bound, cast into prison and sealed up for this 1000 year period (Rev. 20:2-3), uh- how is it that he was still running around loose, at the same time (I Pet. 5:8)?
5. Uh- where did this New Jerusalem descend to and arrive around 1030 AD, 'cause I wanna' go visit it, since it is already here, prior to getting there, after my physical death?
Oh, wait! Nevermind! That hasn't happend yet, 'cause we got a previously unknown gap of about almost another 1000 years here, since you have declared that "the MK was over" and since I did "just read more closely".
again.
I could go on with the questions, but I do have to do some other things, so I will merely say that frankly, I believe your theology is misreading (or misunderstanding) what the Lord actually said in John 5:2-29 in 'forcing' this into some 'single time period'. "Hour" doesn't necessarily mean 60 minutes, in every Scriptural usage, and it does no violence to the text, otherwise, IMO, unlike some attempts to 'spiritualize' events, in such manner as suggesting that 1000 can really mean an undefined time, as I have seen proposed, merely to give standing to this 'non-literal' idea.
And, FTR, Matthew 24 does not speak of "tribulations" as a plural word, but " the tribulation", "great Tribulation", and "after the Tribulation", all in the singular, which is a much different proposition from the "tribulations" spoken of, in other places, that Christians face regularly.
Gotta' run.
Ed