Subject: why don't people study the old testmant |
Bible Note: Ischus, “Ok, so now I need to hear your view on the current status of Hell, Heaven, and the Kingdom of God.” Great. Heaven always has been, always will be. When Adam sinned, he cut ties with God, his sin separated us. Mankind could not go to heaven, he had to go to Sheol or Hades and await the Messiah that would atone the sin that Adam started that separated us from God. It is because of Jesus, that we can get into Heaven and bypass Sheol; something people from the Old Testament could not do. The kingdom of God is here, now, Christians make this up. We are totally under the New Covenant, and the Kingdom of God will never end no that it’s in place. “Are you saying that Hell and/or Satan no longer exists?” Hell yes, Satan no. First of all, it’s unfortunate that we often confuse Hades with Hell. These are really two different things. Hades is the Greek equivalent of Sheol, or the grave. Sometimes it was called Abraham’s Bosom. This in essence was a holding tank of sorts. Since Adam sinned, no man could go to heaven to be with God, but where did he go when he died? He went to Sheol or Hades to await the Messiah. BUT, after the Messiah came, Sheol/Hades was no longer needed. Hades gave up the dead in her, and they were judged. But, then Hades gets thrown into the ‘lake of fire’. It is this lake of fire that we often refer to as Hell. But we can see, that Hades and Hell are two very different things. Rev 20:13,14 “ And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. The devil, or Satan finds a similar fate. Rev 20:10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. And when we think about this, it makes sense. If Satan is still around, then really Jesus didn’t defeat him. Jesus still has things to do. This of course is not true. “How do you interpret the 1000 years in Rev. 20?” To me John is speaking prophetically, not literally. It represents a transition period from roughly 30 AD to 70 AD. Most people balk at this idea, but it’s really not that difficult. One, prophetic language tends to be VERY poetic, just read through some of the OT prophesies and you’ll understand. Look at what else is in Rev 20:1-2. You got an angel, a key, a chain, an abyss, and a dragon. I think it is unfair to say these are literal, and I think it’s unfair to say that they are poetic or symbolic, but then to demand that the 1,000 years be literal. To me, that would be bad interpretation. “What is your view of the "already, not yet" philosophy?” A cop out in my opinion, and in light of the Bible it is incorrect. What it attempts to say is that you do have things, but not in full. I don’t buy this, it sounds like someone is ducking some issues. The sad thing is, I want to say that an understanding of end times is not essential. But, really, it is. Not for salvation, but for an understanding of the Bible as a whole. One thing that irks me is that people ignore audience relevance. We MUST understand that the Gospels and Letters that make up the New Testament made sense to the first century Christians. What I like to say is this, the Bible is written for us, but not to us. Do you see the difference? We, in the 21st century are NOT the people the Letters and Gospels are addressed to. It’s shocking, but it’s true. In fact, 19 of the NT books have specific people or groups of people they are addressed to! If you remove the audience, the time indicators don’t make sense. Let’s look at who Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is addressed to. 1 Corinthians 1:2 “To the church of God in Corinth….” Ok, now that we know this, let’s look at 1 Cor 15:51,52 “We shall not all fall sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” So…who is the ‘we’ in this passage? Us, or the 1st Century Corinthians? Do you see the difference that makes? Startling isn’t it? Let me allow you to ponder on that. Heads up, I might not be on tomorrow, we’ve got company and what not, entertaining I guess. But I’ll follow up when I can. Take care, your friends are with you. SUEDE |