There are so very many Scripture passages that speak of the new heaven and new earth that I find it incredulous that Amillennials imagine this old, corrupted and fallen earth and the heaven, where the angels rebelled and were cast to earth, is all that Almighty God has planned for. I remember reading in 2 Peter 3:10-13:
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
It struck me how we make so much fuss over material things and place such importance on them for our happiness, yet, when we realize that ALL these things will be destroyed and only what is done for Christ will last, that our "treasure" is secure with God, it has to influence the kind of people we are and will be.
God's promise of a new heaven and earth has always been a promise that HE will fulfill. He said through the prophet Isaiah:
See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord. (Isaiah 65:17-25)
"For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me," declares the LORD, "So your offspring and your name will endure. "And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from sabbath to sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down before Me," says the LORD. (Isaiah 66:22,23)
The beauty of being consistent in your method of interpretation is you begin to see how great God's love for the lost is and how incredible His plan is to bring us home. The Amillennialists have twisted themselves into knots with their supersesionist error and undeveloped eschatology that only sees one judgement. They miss the wedding feast of the Lamb. They don't understand who the Bride of Christ is. They fail to see how the two distinct peoples in God's plan are united because they insist they are both people.
On top of these errors the Amillennialists fail to be honest enough to acknowledge that their eschatology emerged centuries after the Apostolic Era ended and only because of a shift in how Scripture is interpreted. As we progress in this series I continue to hope that our Reformed FRiends open their eyes and see how their eschatology is flawed by the Romanism they failed to reject. For me I think it's a waste of time to discuss eschatology with RC's until they believe The Gospel. They are to indoctrinated with their sacramental system of salvation and church as their savior to see their error.
ok, you asked for a better argument than this article from Scripture. the article states “rome” denies any future kingdom on earth after the second advent.
you posted Scriptures that prove that “rome” is correct. Isaiah 65 states that a new heaven and new earth will be created and God will rejoice over Jerusalem. what is “Jerusalem”? it can’t be that piece of earth in the middle east, 2 Peter 3 says that will be destroyed. besides God doesn’t rejoice or take delight in a piece of dirt.
no, Revelation 21:2 tells us this city, this new Jerusalem is the bride of Christ, Israel or as it is more commonly known, the Church.
Matthew 24 makes it clear Jesus returns on judgement day, the last day. after “the day of the Lord” as 2 Peter calls the last day, the earth will be destroyed by fire. there CAN’T be any 1,000 year millennial kingdom since this earth will not exist.
the kingdom has been established as Paul states in Colossians 1:13-14.
if one doesn’t understand what “Israel” is in the Scriptures, everything goes off the rails from there.
that’s why I asked for some dispensationalist to define Israel, AND NO ONE HAS.
Why? Because they know once they do, this 19th century theory can be picked apart like shooting fish in a barrel.
one example, Jeremiah 32:38-40 states Israel shall be his people and He will make an everlasting covenant with them. v.41 says he will plant them in this land.
is this future or has it been fulfilled? Dispensationalists say its future, “rome” or more properly the historical Christian faith, says Jesus has fulfilled this prophecy.
what does the NT say? 1 Peter 1:9 and 1:10 both call the Church “ God’s people “. wait a minute, Jeremiah says once the new covenant is made, Israel will be God’s people. there can be only one conclusion, Israel is the Church.
next Jeremiah says God will make an everlasting covenant with Israel. 1 Corinthians 11:25 says “this cup is the NEW COVENANT in my blood”. wait a minute, Jeremiah says this new covenant will be made with Israel, God’s people. who celebrates the Lord’s table but the Church? Hebrews 13:20 says this covenant in Christ’s blood is ETERNAL. but wait a minute, Jeremiah says the new eternal covenant will be with Israel, God’s people. there can only be one conclusion, Israel is the Church.
finally, since I have shown the prophecies of Jeremiah have been fulfilled by Jesus Christ, so must Jeremiah 33:41, I will place them in this land. WHAT LAND? He has placed us in HIS KINGDOM, THE NEW JERUSALEM.