[taxesareforever]

I am one who does not believe in a 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth. The Bible says that in the last days it will be as in the days of Noah. Well, we all know that in the days of Noah there were eight believers. Christians will be persecuted in the last days and many will fall away from the truth. We are beginning to see that but it should make us work harder to reach out with the Gospel and not sit back and wait for the end. How Christians can think they have an idea when the end will come is opposed to Scripture since Jesus said no one knows when the end will come except the Father. Jesus says that there will be signs but these signs have been happening for a long time. But not a long time in God's time.

[PFKEY]

I am one who does not believe in a 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth.

I don't believe this is a majority opinion in the religious world.

The Jews of Jesus time had a real hard time grasping the notion that the kingdom of God was not an earthly kingdom. I don't think that will change at the second coming, thus creating this 1000 year reign.

[loboinok]

How Christians can think they have an idea when the end will come is opposed to Scripture

With all due respest,having an "idea" is not opposed to scripture.Predicting or prophesying is.
Scripture tells us to be "watchful, and...be mindful of the seasons".

[CyberAnt]

"opposed to scripture"

It was Paul's teaching that said to the new believers, "it has been given unto you to know the mysteries and secrets of the Kingdom" - if God wasn't going to tell us anything, He forgot to inform Paul.

I believe Jesus said that we "already know the times and the seasons".

Since God is able to commune with us (as believers), then surely He is able to tell us the time is near. Would He tell us the exact date - NO - but He's been giving off signals for years.

[Brian328i]

I remeber seeing a program, I believe it was on the History Channel about the end of the Earth, and they were looking towards the Bible where they said that the end would come after 11 years of peace between the Isrealites and the Palistineans, which should of started in 2002 since they predicted the end in 2012 (iirc).

God just loves to keep us wondering.

[mabelkitty]

I believe as you do.
It will get much, much worse before He comes again.

[Elsie]

I am one who does not believe in a 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth.

Ok......

Revelation 20

 

 1.  And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain.
 2.  He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
 3.  He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
 4.  I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
 5.  (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.
 6.  Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
 7.  When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison
 8.  and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth--Gog and Magog--to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.
 9.  They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
 10.  And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
 11.  Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.
 12.  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
 13.  The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.
 14.  Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.
 15.  If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

[MississippiMan]

How Christians can think they have an idea when the end will come is opposed to Scripture since Jesus said no one knows when the end will come except the Father.

Jesus said no one will know the HOUR, but He also went on to admonish us to know the signs that we might know the SEASON. To me, this makes it crystal clear that we can't know the exact time, but we can indeed know the approximate ERA in which He will return. I believe the re-establishment of Israel as a state in 1948 started the endtime clock ticking. Our current state PERFECTLY matches the prophesied condition. And while others before have thought their time matched it, as well, they were always missing the keystone, the rebirth of Israel.

MM

[Marysecretary]

Doesn't the thousand year reign begin AFTER the second coming? Mxxx

[Fruitbat]

I am one who does not believe in a 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth. The Bible says that in the last days it will be as in the days of Noah. Well, we all know that in the days of Noah there were eight believers. Christians will be persecuted in the last days and many will fall away from the truth. We are beginning to see that but it should make us work harder to reach out with the Gospel and not sit back and wait for the end. How Christians can think they have an idea when the end will come is opposed to Scripture since Jesus said no one knows when the end will come except the Father. Jesus says that there will be signs but these signs have been happening for a long time. But not a long time in God's time.

You've hit the nail right on the head on two points:

First, your statement, contradicting all the predictions as to the timing of the return of Christ, comparing the 'second coming' to the coming of a 'thief in the night," ergo, unanticipatedly.

The more important thing is this notion of a thousand year reign of Christ on earth. The only mention of this is in the book of Revelation. The number of people, biblical scholars and laity alike, that take certain portions of Revelation literally while within the same sentences taking other portions figuratively is astonishing to say the least.

Revelation is a high-level big-picture view of the history of man and beyond on the front end as everything relates to God in perspective. It is not some snapshot view of a bunch of things indicative of what the scriptures says will not be 'broadcast' or 'forecasted' for anyone with a simple fourth-grade education to be able to ascertain the exact day of the return of the Lord. Yet, this is the perception.

As well, this "thousand year reign" actually began shortly after Christ's ascension!

Without elaborating in the interests of brevity, Jesus told us that the kingdom of God was "at hand" meaning he was it. He began to reign appropriately following his death and ascension and has since sat at the right hand of the Father reigning from there and in a figurative/metaphorical sense with us reigning with him during the gospel age.

Many falsely attempt to take something that Jesus said was not of this world, namely his kingdom, and make it of this world. It isn't nor ever will be.

Romans 5 lays out perfectly that this reign is a "reign with Christ" and there is absolutely no mention anywhere of a reign "over" anyone or anything. The reign is "[with Christ] and [by grace] in righteousness for trhe sole purpose of highlighting Christ and eternal life through him.

It is that simple. The return of Christ is the finality of life on earth as we all know it! There are no options for anyone following that.

I personally believe that the anti-christian sentiment is going to grow much worse prior to the return of Christ. JMO however.

[Just mythoughts]

"The Bible says that in the last days it will be as in the days of Noah. Well, we all know that in the days of Noah there were eight believers."

Yes Christ said Himself that a sign of His return, Matthew 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

We have not had "the days" of Noe (Noah) yet.

However, in Matthew 24:22 Christ says about His return "And except those days should be shortened, there should not flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."

Nothing is said about the events "signs" not going to take place only that "time" would be shortened, and yet IIPeter 3:10 "But the day of the LORD will come as a thief in the night; ......"

Christ instructs in Matthew 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

What was going on during the days of Noe, that caused the flood?

Interesting that Christ Himself says a thief would come, be ready and Peter states that Christ's coming would be as a thief in the night.

[Quix]

taforever: How Christians can think they have an idea when the end will come is opposed to Scripture since Jesus said no one knows when the end will come except the Father.

HELLO?

I get so weary of this hollow argument. JESUS ALSO SAID SEVERAL THINGS ABOUT WATCHING FOR CERTAIN SIGNS SO THAT WE WOULD *KNOW* WHEN THE TIME WAS APPROACHING, AT HAND. He chided and rebuked those who could tell th weather but not the SIGNS OF THE TIMES such as related to HIS SECOND COMING! EVIDENTLY *HE* EXPECTED US TO KNOW THE SEASON, ANYWAY!

Of course, folks can ignore Christ's firm warning and exhortation to WATCH, WAIT, BE AWARE, READY, KNOWLEDGABLE ABOUT THE TIME BEING AT HAND etc. But I don't encourage it if you really want to demonstrate your love for HIM by following HIS commandments and exhortations.

I think it's a cop-out to use the Scripture about not knowing the DAY OR HOUR to avoid following Christ's exhortations about being aware and knowing the season of His 2nd Coming. Sheesh.

Maybe it's convenient and a good rationalization for laziness. But it's not being obedient out of Love to our Lord and what He exhorted in such matters.

Not sure why but that increasingly annoys me. Maybe it strikes me as willful blindness or some such.

Certainly doesn't strike me as Biblical.

[quant5]

"How Christians can think they have an idea when the end will come is opposed to Scripture since Jesus said no one knows when the end will come except the Father."

This scripture says that we do not know the day nor the hour, only the season. Your right in that regard. However, the last physical prophecy of a main event was the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. Jesus told the Jews to flee the city and only grab what they could as they were running. Jesus accurately foretold that the Romans would encircle the city and withdraw. It did however, take 3 1/2 years before the Romans returned to finally destroy the city. The point I am making? We may not know the day nor the hour but we very well are becoming apparent to the seasons around us as we are admonished to do.