R*o
发帖数: 3781 | 1 By Pastor Kelly Sensenig
The Bible in Revelation 20:4-5 clearly teaches two resurrections that are se
parated by 1,000 years. The first group of saints are raised before the 1,00
0 years (vs. 4) and the second group of unsaved people are raised after the
1,000 years (vs. 5). The amillennialist cannot believe that the first resurr
ection is a literal resurrection or else he would have to believe in the lit
eral 1,000 years that follows this literal resurrection. Therefore, he must
allegorize and change the meaning of the first resurrection to mean spiritua
l regeneration (new birth) and also change the meaning of the 1,000 years. T
aking the 1,000 years to be literal would upset the amillennial eschatologic
al scheme which believes there is only one resurrection of all people on the
last day and no literal kingdom over the earth. Therefore, they need to spi
ritualize the first resurrection (vs. 5b) by claiming that it refers to the
continuous fulfillment of resurrected souls or the salvation of souls (new b
irth of believers) throughout the present period in which we live. They clai
m that the reference to the first resurrection speaks of the time when peopl
e are regenerated; it's then that their soul is resurrected from the dead an
d Christ in a spiritual sense begins to rule in their hearts as the King. At
death this reign continues in heaven, as also pictured by this verse.
Alva McClain observes:
"If the people involved were beheaded physically, and then lived again, comm
on sense would suggest that they received back the same category of life tha
t had been lost."
It's very clear that the first resurrection is speaking of physical resurrec
tion to enter the Millennium and not some kind of spiritual resurrection.
Amillennialism also disguises itself with the newer term called Preterism. T
his is another Latin term that speaks of something that is already past. Thi
s view holds that the bulk of the prophecies in Revelation were fulfilled wi
th the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D and the judgments associated with this ti
me. The preterist does believe in a final judgment following a metaphorical
millennial kingdom, but he teaches that all other prophecy has already been
fulfilled. Preterism has many flaws. First, most biblical scholars believe
that John wrote Revelation around 95 A.D. How can he then prophecy about s
omething that took place in 70 A.D.? When was the mark of the beast impleme
nted (Revelation 13:16-17)? When did the Euphrates River dry up (Revelation
16:12)? Why is there no record of 100-pound hailstones falling from the sk
y (Revelation 16:21)? Furthermore, why was Israel dispersed for nearly two t
housand years and reborn as an independent nation in 1948? These questions
cannot be answered with any intellectual honesty while adhering to the prete
rist view. God is not finished with Israel and the Bible prophecy must be ta
ken literally for the Bible to make logical sense. Someone once wrote: "When
the literal sense makes good sense, be careful not to make nonsense." Those
who spiritualize the Bible when it should be taken literally do God's Word
a terrible injustice (2 Cor. 2:17; 4:2). | R*o
发帖数: 3781 | 2 Yesterday on my favorite local Christian radio, my favorite Pastor in a Q&A
program rebuked the amillennialists. In his view, Satan was obviously not b
ound now. I think everyone here agrees. Satan is not chained and sealed in
"great deep" nowadays.Funny that the amillennialists argue that Satan is ch
ained right now, but the chain is very long. Therefore, Satan can still cli
mb out of the "great deep" and harm us.
John Calvin, as an amillennialist, wrote in Institutes that the millennial k
ingdom is a "fiction" that is "too childish either to need or to be worth a
refutation." Is John Calvin not "fiction" and "childish" by teaching that
the chain on Satan is very long and Satan can actually climb out of the "gr
eat deep"? |
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