This one:
Rev 20:
4And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
5But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
alright. you believe the term a thousand years is literal, not symbolic, and that the thousand years follows the Second Advent.
that's all based on this single short chapter, which is the only place 'living and reigning with Christ for a thousand years' is ever mentioned in all of scripture.
so this:
2 Peter 3:
8But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
is an add-on to beef up your theory. simply because it also uses the hebraism/figure of speech/ symbolic use of the term
a thousand - which always means completion or total/all/all-inclusive/fullness).
doing a search for all examples of
a thousand would be helpful to see how God uses it.
it says nothing whatsoever about a thousand year future reign.
in fact, in context, it says there will be fiery judgement upon the Lord's Return.
it says the opposite of what you are cherry-picking it for:
2 Peter 3:8
7But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept
for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 8But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance
as well, this is
the only place in scripture "the first resurrection" is mentioned:
Rev 20:
4And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
5But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
how many resurrections does the Bible teach?
if you have
a first resurrection at the Second Advent....then a period of exactly one thousand years....then a second resurrection - who is living during the millennium?
who enters it, who does not (i presume they are the "dead who live not again" until they are raised for judgment after the thousand years (at the "second resurrection)? then
who is reigning over whom during the future millennium when only believers enter it? is it just a time for christians?
i'm certain you don't believe that - or do you?
could you elaborate - from scripture about exactly what happens during the future 1,000 years?
it appears to be an extremely important time - there must a ALOT written about what it is FOR.
what's it FOR?
how are people save during it? oh...wait - only saved people enter it, right?
........
there is no "second resurrection"
ever mentioned in scripture.
so that means there is something unique and special about the "first resurrection", mentioned just the one time, in Rev 20.
it would be helpful to determine what that "first resurrection" is (means).
Zech 14:
8 And in that day it shall be That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea And half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur.
9And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be-- "The Lord is one," And His name one.
i'm going to post on what this actually is referring to. if you do consider it, and consider it may be referring to something that has already come to pass - could you acknowledge the possibility - that you're even willing to re-read it?
if not, please indicate that as well, since i don't want to waste the time either of us have.
if you can show zechariah 14 as pertaining to the millennium -
who are these living waters benefiting, since only believers enter the millennium according to Premillennialism's 'first resurrection' of believers (at the Second Advent) is separated by a period of 1,000 years (where none of the dead are raised).
who is the Lord King over "in that day", since no unbelievers are raised?
Zech 14:
8 And in that day it shall be That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea And half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur.
9And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be-- "The Lord is one," And His name one.
Deuteronomy 16:16
"Three times in a year shall all the males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which He shall choose: in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks, and in the Feast of Tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty."
so we know the type - the feast of unleavened bread - was fulfilled in and by Christ - correct?
He said He was the bread that came down from heaven, without sin (leaven).
He instituted the Lord's Supper as a memorial.
we see it here, with Passover - which we know was also fulfilled by Jesus:
Deuteronomy 16:2-3
"Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the Passover unto the Lord thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the Lord shall choose to place his name there. Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life."
we are seeing the absolute removal of sin from God's people, typified in the feasts, realized for us, by and in Jesus.
agree so far?
these feast were to be a reminder of the deliverance from bondage, and a celebration of God's kindness.
they also clearly pointed to the ultimate redemption - through the Work of Jesus.
we know the sacrifice of animals does not take away sin and we are not in good standing with God just by eating unleavened bread. these point to Jesus. right?
so we absolutely would be apostate heretics if we continued to sacrifice animals, since this signified the ultimate Sacrifice by Jesus. likewise, what are we saying if we are considering ourselves right before God by obsessing over yeast? are we not signifying Christ has not come? i don't know.
what about the Feast of Weeks?
have we forgotten that Jesus said:
Luke 24:26-27
"Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?" Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
Luke 24:44
He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."
Deuteronomy 16:10-12
"And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God, according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee:
And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to place his name there.
And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes".
We know this Feast is Pentecost, also Firstfruits.
Pentecost means fifty.
The Feast of Weeks was to start on the fiftieth day after the Passover Sabbath.
Jesus said that after He was Sacrificed, and Risen.... that the Holy Spirit would be poured out.
This happened exactly during the Firstfruits celebration.
He appeared to His disciples and others for forty days after His resurrection.
Acts 1:2-3
until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
The what happened?
10 days later He sent the Holy Spirit - 50 days after the Passover Sabbath.
Christians know this as Pentecost, because the New Testament was written in Greek.
So, the Feast of Weeks; Firstfruits was fulfilled after Jesus Finished His Work (His sinless body broken - unleavened bread), and the in-gathering of Jews at Jerusalem, from the nations where they were born....at Pentecost, was when the Spirit was poured out ON THEM.
right? just as promised in Joel (and Isaiah).
so they were the firstfruits, the ingathering. they then went out, or went forth, harvesting the latter harvest, sharing and giving, as they were blessed to recieve. this was His 12, and the 70, and all in Israel who believed. that was the continuation of faithful Israel (the church, or ekklesia) - having received the promise to Abraham - CHRIST.
they took the Gospel to the gentiles, and the greater harvest began.
so can we agree that The Feast of Unleavened Bread...and the Feast of Weeks saw their fulfillment in Christ through His Cross and Resurrection, and Pentecost, as the Spirit was poured out as promised?
so what about Tabernacles? was it not clearly ordained with the other 2 Feasts?
what are we really saying if we were to sacrifice a lamb at Passover? and what are we saying if we don't understand Pentecost?
Deuteronomy 16:16
"Three times in a year shall all the males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which He shall choose: in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks, and in the Feast of Tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty."
the Feast of Tabernacles cont....
(hopefully this won't just be dismissed out of hand before i finish. no time to waste)
)