Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. (Rev 20:4-6)
I am going to suggest that the 1000 years is not a literal thousand years and that in apocalyptic vision there are many things we don't and should't use a wooden literalism to interpret and that perhaps the first resurrection being spoken of here is the new birth, the regeneration of dead sinners into life by the power of the Spirit and the Word of God. We will see how that goes. I am not expecting to change a lot of minds but I am hoping to shake the tree a little bit so that some of my brothers might not take Scofield at his word about everything he wrote.
2 comments:
You, sir, are a brave, brave man.
I was almost forcibly ejected two weeks ago from our discussion whilst we were outside the prison for the night. A guy asked me who the "dead" were in ch. 20, vv. 12-14. I said, "Well, they're..the dead." They asked what I meant. I said, "The dead. Just like it says. People who have died." They were not amused. They refused to even consider that believers who have died (physically) could be considered dead. They were backed up by the AoG minister who read it and said, "Yup, that can't include believers."
I asked them based upon just reading the text in question how they came to that conclusion. "Where do you get that from only reading this text?" "Well, the believer isn't dead, he alive, he has spiritual life." I said, "Yeah, granted, but what does that have to do with this?" "Only nonbelievers are dead." "Spiritually, yes, but where do you get that from only reading this text? Cemeteries are full of Christian bodies aren't they?" We got nowhere fast.
Carry on.
Oooooh, this postmillenialist would just LOVE to be in that bible study! ;)
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