What Happens To Us? Series

So why then does God bother to put numbers and times and such in the Bible. Well, in the historical records it is because that has happened on earth and can be spoken of in earth time. The historical chronologies in the Bible are accurate. But the future events can’t be given to us in literal earthly time because in the spiritual realm there’s no such thing as time. Only events and series of events that lead to some sort of culmination.

I believe this is what God has told me, that we are not to take the times in unfulfilled prophecy literally but as representations, and as we see from most research, very few scholars agree on what the specific times really mean, and what events they pertained to. And when someone does try to make predictions based on calculations in the Bible they are always wrong.

The way I come to these conclusions is though struggling with all the possibilities of interpretation to the point of exhaustion and frustration, and then eventually as I write, God inevitably gives me something that brings a sense of peace over me after struggling to the point of giving up. That is when I know I can bring the information to you. And I always pray that I will be accurate and that Scripture will not refute what I’m saying.

And I want you or anyone else to examine what I say and call me on it if it does go against Scripture, because one of the most important roles I believe I have, is to protect the flock from false teaching. So obviously I don’t want to be the false teacher. That is one of the reasons I also put my sermons online on a site that is used by thousands of other pastors. Paul begins some of his writings, specifically in 1 Thes, that he doesn’t want us to be uninformed, and that is my goal as well.

So the more I’ve studied over the years, my beliefs have changed to believe that the millennial reign of Christ is a spiritual reign with born again believers in heaven and on earth through the church. Therefore the rapture of souls occurs continuously throughout the church age since Jesus was raised, with a final rapture before his final coming. The first resurrection then is ongoing from the time of Jesus resurrection to His second coming. The instant a believer dies they are with the Lord in Spirit, in the air.

It never says in Revelation 20, which is the only place we hear specifically about the millennial reign, that Christ reigns on earth, and nowhere in the Bible is there a specific mention of a time on earth where Jesus is present bodily and peace reigns, until after his second coming and the creation of the new earth.

Just to put a nail in it and this is what really matters, in Rev 11:15 it says that when he reigns, He shall reign forever and ever, and in Revelation 22:5 believers are included and it says they will reign forever and ever. No indication anywhere in the Bible of a non-continuous reign in heaven or on earth.

Again you are free to choose to believe otherwise, I just ask that you base your belief on a thorough study of all the Scriptures from all the different angles, and not just your opinion or tradition. So if you choose to believe this, you have already had your spiritual resurrection and have eternal life if you have repented and believed in Jesus Christ’s work on earth. And you are now living in the spiritual millennial reign with Christ as we speak. One day you will come back to a new earth in a new everlasting body with Jesus to live forever.