Posted on 06/19/2012 1:55:20 PM PDT by wmfights
In this article, we first examined the tap root that contributed to the rejection of a literal thousand-year kingdom on earth, the dominant view for the first two centuries of the church, in favour of a spiritualized kingdom unlimited in duration (amillennialism). The single factor: the adoption of an allegorical hermeneutic, which replaced the literal or face-value hermeneutic of Jesus and the apostles. Four sub-roots fed this hermeneutical shift. First: the anti-Jewish bias of the early church developed as a result of a church dominated by gentile believers. Second: an overreaction to heresy, which included the condemnation not only of heretical doctrines, but chiliasm as well. Third: the adoption of Platonic and Gnostic teachings on the evil of the material world which led to a rejection of a material, earthly future kingdom. And fourth and finally: the adoption of Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire. The church no longer looked for the coming of Christ to establish His kingdom and rescue believers from persecution, but instead saw the newly-found freedom and prominence of the church as the fulfillment of the promises of a future kingdom.
(Excerpt) Read more at rapturenotes.com ...
The idea of the Rapture wasn’t introduced until the 1800’s and was later popularized by Hal Lindsey in the 1970’s.
Ping for later rapture
The entire article is at the link. I think the author does a good job explaining the impact that the change from a literal reading to an allegorical reading of Scripture had on eschatological views and why the shift from the dominant Premillenial view to the Amillenial view occurred.
The entire article is at the link. I think the author does a good job explaining the impact that the change from a literal reading to an allegorical reading of Scripture had on eschatological views and why the shift from the dominant Premillenial view to the Amillenial view occurred.
I would suggest reading the article at the link. It might be a little long, but it is very helpful in explaining how the rise of the flawed belief in amillenialism occurred.
Try selling the pre-trib, Hal Lindsay, LEFT BEHIND book series, and the I’m outta here, too bad about you stuff in China, North Korea, Africa, Former Soviet Union, and every other place on earth where Christians are murdered, tortured, starved, roaming around homeless...
"And we will not have you ignorant brethren, concerning them that are asleep, that you be not sorrowful, even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again: even so them who have slept through Jesus, will God bring with him. For this we say unto you in the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them who have slept. For the Lord himself shall come down from heaven with commandment and with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God: and the dead who are in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, shall be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet Christ, into the air: and so shall we be always with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort ye one another with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:12-17 Douay-Rheims Bible)
The Greek verb arpagaysometha (from harpadzo), here translated as "shall be taken up," has the sense of seized, caught up, plucked, taken away; and in the Vulgate is the Latin verb rapiemur from which the correct and exactly descriptive English word "rapture" is derived. The Vulgate was translated circa 400 A. D. by Jerome.
That is an answer to your proposal.
“Now we must frankly admit that a literal interpretation of the Old Testament prophecies gives us just such a picture of an earthly reign of the Messiah as the premillennialist pictures. That was the kind of a Messianic kingdom that the Jews of the time of Christ were looking for, on the basis of a literal interpretation of the Old Testament.”
The Jews made the mistake of looking for an earthly king and an earthly reign. They were wrong then and believing in an earthly kingdom in the future is just as wrong. Jesus will come again but it will not be to set up shop on earth.
This explains the reason for the Tribulation and the difference between tribulations and the Tribulation:
Thank you for your post.
I’m afraid you won’t make any headway with the amils around here.
We can explain it to them on the way up.
;^)
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17)
We are watching a growing trend of rejecting the idea that Christ is coming back literally, physically (pre-millennial view) to rule over the nations and establish his governmental rule. They have replaced it with the concept of the church is to take over the world and establish the kingdom of God.
There are over 360 references to a Millennium period where the Messiah, Jesus, will be on earth ruling the nations. The book of Revelation speaks of a thousand years as the length of this period. It tells us where and what will take place as this kingdom is established. It is not possible for one to fit the Scriptures into a present kingdom on earth now.
The kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven is mentioned nearly 100 times in the New Testament, the majority in the Gospels [Matthew and Luke], (Acts 1:3,8:12,14:22, 19:8, 20:25, 28:23,31; Rom. 14:17; 1 Cor. 4:20, 1 Cor. 6:9-10,1 Cor. 15:50; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5; Col. 1:13, 4:11; II Thess. 1:5; 2 Pet. 1:11; Rev. 12:10)
snip
Matthew 13 tells us about the mystery form of the Kingdom (Mark 4:11), the Gospel Age - in which the Kingdom of God has invaded Satan’s Kingdom (who is the ruler on earth), rescuing them and bringing them advanced blessings attributed to the millennial reign (Righteousness, peace, forgiveness, and joy, Rom. 14:17). It is the Kingdom without observation, but is discerned spiritually (John 3:3). It is mentioned only twice in John’s gospel by Jesus to Nicodemus John 3:3, 5. In John 3:3 Jesus told Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Jesus further explains in v.6 that one birth is of the flesh (natural) the other is a new birth, (a spiritual birth), which is a necessity. This birth which brings one into the Kingdom (we are to enter the kingdom of God Luke 18:17, 24, 25). It is produced by the seed (the word of God) being scattered on different soil (hearts) and springs to life and grows on the right ground. The seeds that produced the sons of the Kingdom grow together along with the sons of the Evil One until the end of the age - the harvest time. Those of the Kingdom, who have been born into it, will enter into the Kingdom Age with Christ ruling, known as the Millennium; those who do not believe will be rejected. This age has not happened, his literal- physical kingdom has not appeared yet. When we speak of the expansion of God’s kingdom today, it means the spiritual aspect.
In Greek, the word Kingdom is Basileia, which denotes “sovereignty, royal power, and dominion. It further denotes the territory or people over whom a King rules” (From Vine’s Expository Dictionary, p. 344). Thus, “kingdom” is a designation both of power and the form of government as well as, especially in the later writers, the territory and the rule - the Kingship and the Kingdom. Hence, the basic meaning of kingdom involves three things - a ruler, a people who are ruled, and a territory over which they are ruled. (Moody Handbook of Theology p. 352)
We are now servants in His Kingdom, we enter in through Christ by the New Birth, but there is still a literal future Kingdom to come. There is a spiritual aspect to the Kingdom, which is God being the Lord over the believer. This aspect is the invisible spiritual kingdom. Jesus explains in other places that the kingdom will come to earth. Jesus said when He was present on earth, "My kingdom is not of this world," so it has to have a future meaning.
God tells us in His Scripture that there will be a literal, earthly, millennial kingdom where Christ will rule the world from Jerusalem and so there will be a literal, earthly, millennial kingdom where Christ will rule the world from Jerusalem.
hogwash
So you have Scripture that contradicts the Scripture in the article and supports your assertion that 1 Thessalonians 4:12-18 is false?
World War I as Fulfillment: Power and the Intellectuals
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Interestingly, it was Northern Premillenialism that turned into Progressivism. Southern Premillenialism focused more on individual salvation.
I’m afraid they are going to be on there own at that point. It’s going to be a shocker to them also. Can you imagine the feeling after realizing what has just happened? They do need to know that after that it’s death for Christ or hell.
"The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations" Revelations 2:26
"to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. The Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 22:30
From this, am I right, that the Amillennialists do Not believe the Apostles will reign on the earth?
From the second, am I right, that Amillennialists do Not believe they will have authority over the nations on earth?
From the third, that Amilenialists believe that no one judges from Thrones upon the earth and judges purified saints in heaven (contradicting the Lord Jesus Christ)?
"In the Ethics of Liberty, Rothbard explores in terms of self-ownership and contract several contentious issues regarding children's rights. These include women's right to abortion, proscriptions on parents aggressing against children once they are born, and the issue of the state forcing parents to care for children, including those with severe health problems. He also holds children have the right to "run away" from parents and seek new guardians as soon as they are able to choose to do so. He suggested parents have the right to put a child out for adoption or even sell the rights to the child in a voluntary contract, which he feels is more humane than artificial governmental restriction of the number of children available to willing and often superior parents."
"He also discusses how the current juvenile justice system punishes children for making "adult" choices, such as underage drinking or sex, removing children unnecessarily and against their will from parents, often putting them in uncaring and even brutal foster care or juvenile facilities, while at the same time denying to them those legal rights adults enjoy, such as trial by jury, a written transcript of their court proceedings, etc."[66][67]
You haven't spoiled any party. The Word of the living God stands for all eternity while the discredited-in-matters-of-Scripture Murray N. Rothbard is, well, dead, along with, it would seem, some of his ideas.
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