Jesus Christ's return and thousand-year reign of Rev 20:4 was real history and is now over - We're in the Little Season of Rev 20:7-8

[lifepsyop]

Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
Revelation 1:7

This is not a future event. This happened already in the 1st century AD. The people who killed Jesus were still alive to see it, as it is written.

There is much to expand on this subject, (which I hope to do shortly), but the highlights are as follows:


1. Jesus Christ's thousand-year Millennial Reign began after his resurrection (described in Revelation ch. 20) , when Satan was cast into the abyss and bound. This thousand-year reign actually occurred in history, starting in the first century AD, and explains why so many of the 'middle-age' kingdoms of the world bowed down to Jesus Christ and ruled in His name. (From our deceived perspective, this time in history appears as a "Dark Age".. See point #4 below. The forces of secular enlightenment have colluded to erase this period from history and nullify the amazing fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy.) We know this time in history as CHRISTENDOM.

Christendom was literally Christendom. It was Christ and the Saints conquering and reigning on earth. And we the monumental evidence of this in art and architecture all over the world.

2. The 70 AD destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem was the prophecied Day of the Lord, when Jesus returned in fiery vengeance upon His enemies in Jerusalem and began to rule the nations with a rod of iron. (Revelation 1:7, 2:27)

3. This Christian Millenium ended at some point in the last several centuries and we entered the "Little Season" referenced in Revelation 20:1-3, 20:7-8 where Satan is released from his prison and allowed to deceive the nations once more. (I think this is a pretty good explanation for the rapid paradigm shifts giving way to the secular order of the modern age)

4. We are currently living at some point in the little season of Satan's deception, between Revelation 20:7 and 20:9, before the mysterious final battle of Gog and Magog.



It's amazing how much of Jesus and the Apostles' words harmonized once I accepted this. They explicitly referred to these events happening imminently, within their lifetime. In the beginning of Revelation, when Jesus communicated with the seven churches and told them he was coming quickly to judge them, he was actually telling the truth. It's funny how obvious this is once you see it. When he told everyone that they would see Him returning on the clouds in their own lifetime, He was simply telling the truth. In my state of deceit, I told myself that Jesus must not have meant what he said.

Just one small example is the bodily resurrection of the saints found at the end of Matthew and the book of Revelation (Matthew 27:52 - Revelation 20:4)
That verse in Matthew never made sense to me until now, likewise with so many words from Jesus about his return in their lifetime.

My prior commitment to Premillennialism, and my naive acceptance of false secular history from antiquity to present day, prevented me from seeing the truth that was right under my nose, shouted from scripture in a myriad of different ways. As much as I hate to admit it, even after all this time I remain a product of the ideology of Enlightenment rationalism, and I never considered how wrong our rationalized naturalized version of history could be.

I have a new joy and confidence in the holy scriptures now, in how true they all are. How true Jesus was in how plainly He spoke. How true the Apostles were. There is no more weird 2,000+ year historical period of silence that I always blindly accepted, and that always made so much of scripture so awkward. That stumblingblock has been cast away and the reality of God's Word has opened up more fully for me. Praise Him!


This video goes into great detail on how all of scripture in the NT is harmonized once you accept this:

(328) Did the disciples believe they were living in the Millennium? (Episode 4) - YouTube

This is a great resource on this subject, and walks you through all of it:

Preterism

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

youtube.com

(This belief is also sometimes known as "Partial Preterism" though I am not a fan of that term.)

I am interested to hear any others' thoughts on this subject.

 

[JesusFollowerForever]

Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
Revelation 1:7

there is no evidence of this can you add a historical reference that says every eye did see him ? please note that some prophecies have a dual fulfillment, this is the case for this prophecy Jesus second coming has not yet happen but will soon. every scholar know this, unfortunately you were mislead into believing this.

This is not a future event. This happened already in the 1st century AD. The people who killed Jesus were still alive to see it, as it is written.

There is much to expand on this subject, (which I hope to do shortly), but the highlights are as follows:


1. Jesus Christ's thousand-year Millennial Reign began after his resurrection (described in Revelation ch. 20) , when Satan was cast into the abyss and bound. This thousand-year reign actually occurred in history, starting in the first century AD, and explains why so many of the 'middle-age' kingdoms of the world bowed down to Jesus Christ and ruled in His name. (From our deceived perspective, this time in history appears as a "Dark Age".. See point #4 below. The forces of secular enlightenment have colluded to erase this period from history and nullify the amazing fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy.) We know this time in history as CHRISTENDOM.
Show us evidence of the millennial reign of Jesus. You will not be able to.
Christendom was literally Christendom. It was Christ and the Saints conquering and reigning on earth. And we the monumental evidence of this in art and architecture all over the world.

the bible says that Jesus was taken to heaven and would return later. he told us HOW he would return see below, none of this has happen yet, there are no historic records of any kind to say he did return

• Matthew 24:29-31 (KJV): "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
• Matthew 25:31-32 (KJV): "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats."
• Mark 13:26-27 (KJV): "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven."
• Luke 21:25-28 (KJV): "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."
• John 14:3 (KJV): "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."

none of this has happen! but will.

2. The 70 AD destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem was the prophecied Day of the Lord, when Jesus returned in fiery vengeance upon His enemies in Jerusalem and began to rule the nations with a rod of iron. (Revelation 1:7, 2:27)

3. This Christian Millenium ended at some point in the last several centuries and we entered the "Little Season" referenced in Revelation 20:1-3, 20:7-8 where Satan is released from his prison and allowed to deceive the nations once more. (I think this is a pretty good explanation for the rapid paradigm shifts giving way to the secular order of the modern age)

4. We are currently living at some point in the little season of Satan's deception, between Revelation 20:7 and 20:9, before the mysterious final battle of Gog and Magog.

2,3,4, no historic proof of any of this also

It's amazing how much of Jesus and the Apostles' words harmonized once I accepted this. They explicitly referred to these events happening imminently, within their lifetime. In the beginning of Revelation, when Jesus communicated with the seven churches and told them he was coming quickly to judge them, he was actually telling the truth. It's funny how obvious this is once you see it. When he told everyone that they would see Him returning on the clouds in their own lifetime, He was simply telling the truth. In my state of deceit, I told myself that Jesus must not have meant what he said.

Just one small example is the bodily resurrection of the saints found at the end of Matthew and the book of Revelation (Matthew 27:52 - Revelation 20:4)
That verse in Matthew never made sense to me until now, likewise with so many words from Jesus about his return in their lifetime.

My prior commitment to Premillennialism, and my naive acceptance of false secular history from antiquity to present day, prevented me from seeing the truth that was right under my nose, shouted from scripture in a myriad of different ways. As much as I hate to admit it, even after all this time I remain a product of the ideology of Enlightenment rationalism, and I never considered how wrong our rationalized naturalized version of history could be.

I have a new joy and confidence in the holy scriptures now, in how true they all are. How true Jesus was in how plainly He spoke. How true the Apostles were. There is no more weird 2,000+ year historical period of silence that I always blindly accepted, and that always made so much of scripture so awkward. That stumblingblock has been cast away and the reality of God's Word has opened up more fully for me. Praise Him!


This video goes into great detail on how all of scripture in the NT is harmonized once you accept this:

(328) Did the disciples believe they were living in the Millennium? (Episode 4) - YouTube

This is a great resource on this subject, and walks you through all of it:

Preterism

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

youtube.com

(This belief is also sometimes known as "Partial Preterism" though I am not a fan of that term.)

I am interested to hear any others' thoughts on this subject.

I have tried to explain in short that the second coming did not happen yet, I am willing to discuss further if you need.

Blessings

 

[lifepsyop]

there is no evidence of this can you add a historical reference that says every eye did see him ?

I assume you believe that every eye will see him in the future, so why is it so hard to believe every eye saw him in the past?

What matters most to me is the harmony of scripture. Jesus plainly says that his return to earth in judgment will happen within his disciples' lifetime and that they will personally witness it. He affirms the same to the seven churches in the book of Revelation. His returning is consistently described as imminent.

please note that some prophecies have a dual fulfillment, this is the case for this prophecy Jesus second coming has not yet happen but will soon.

It has happened because he said it would quickly in the disciples' lifetimes. However not everything has been fulfilled yet. We are most likely somewhere in the Little Season of deception that followed Christ's millennial reign. There is still the New Jerusalem and new heaven and earth to come.

the bible says that Jesus was taken to heaven and would return later. he told us HOW he would return see below, none of this has happen yet, there are no historic records of any kind to say he did return

• Matthew 24:29-31 (KJV): "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
• Matthew 25:31-32 (KJV): "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats."
• Mark 13:26-27 (KJV): "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven."
• Luke 21:25-28 (KJV): "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."
• John 14:3 (KJV): "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."

none of this has happen! but will.

Recorded evidence during such a time of upheaval would be fragmentary at best.

Even so, there is some testimony given about the extraordinary nature of destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD

And global periods of chaos and catastrophe around the world around the time of the fall of the Roman Empire. I'm not saying this is conclusive at all, just saying, there is plenty of evidence of catastrophe in the world. Obviously they would always be interpreted as random environmental events, and could never be viewed as divine judgment.

2,3,4, no historic proof of any of this also

I have tried to explain in short that the second coming did not happen yet, I am willing to discuss further if you need.

Blessings

Most of your argument seems to rely on a commitment to secular history, which I do not share.

Secular history denies any Biblical events that cannot be readily fit into an evolutionary storyline (i.e. methodological naturalism)
They deny Creation, the Flood, Babel, the Exodus, the Conquest of Jericho and the rest of Canaan, the extent of the power of the Davidic kingdom and Solomon's reign, and of course they deny Jesus' divinity and resurrection. Everything has to be fit into the box of naturalism.

There is no way that secular historians would ever even approach the idea that Christ was reigning on earth. However, look at the simple fact of what we all know happened. A man dying on a wooden cross led to entire kingdoms across the world bowing down to worship him for roughly a thousand years. People were shocked with a fundamentally new sense of reality.

Thank you for your response, I would be happy to continue the discussion.

Like I said, I was a committed premillenialist for years. But now the truth is plain to me. Jesus and the apostles said it plainly and I am now free to simply believe him instead of holding onto a tradition.

 

[lifepsyop]

 

[lifepsyop]

On the Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD

"Of the many eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, a major stratovolcano in Southern Italy, the best-known is its eruption in 79 AD,[2][3] which was one of the deadliest in history.

As Emperor Titus of the Flavian dynasty (reigning June 24, 79 to September 13, 81) garnered victories on the battlefield (including his capture of the Temple of Jerusalem) and other honors, his administration issued coins enumerating his ever-growing accolades."

"remarkable that both coins will have taken just two months after minting to enter circulation and reach Pompeii before the disaster."

Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius occurred just as the Roman emperor was being celebrated for his victory in destroying the Temple of Jerusalem.



The records of 2nd century Roman historian Dio Cassius:

Dio on Vesuvius

www.u.arizona.edu

Dio Cassius 66.21-24


"22 Such is Vesuvius, and these phenomena usually occur there every year. But all the other occurrences that had taken place there in the course of time, however notable, because unusual, they may have seemed to those who on each occasion observed them, nevertheless would be regarded as trivial in comparison with what now happened, even if all had been combined into one. 2 This was what befell. Numbers of huge men quite surpassing any human stature — such creatures, in fact, as the Giants are pictured to have been — appeared, now on the mountain, now in the surrounding country, and again in the cities, wandering over the earth day and night and also flitting through the air. 3 After this fearful droughts and sudden and violent earthquakes occurred, so that the whole plain round about seethed and the summits leaped into the air. There were frequent rumblings, some of them subterranean, that resembled thunder, and some on the surface, that sounded like bellowings; the sea also joined in the roar and the sky re-echoed it. 4 Then suddenly a portentous crash was heard, as if the mountains were tumbling in ruins; and first huge stones were hurled aloft, rising as high as the very summits, then came a great quantity of fire and endless smoke, so that the whole atmosphere was obscured and the sun was entirely hidden, as if eclipsed.

23 Thus day was turned into night and light into darkness. Some thought that the Giants were rising again in revolt (for at this time also many of their forms could be discerned in the smoke and, moreover, a sound as of trumpets was heard), while others believed that the whole universe was being resolved into chaos or fire. 2 Therefore they fled, some from the houses into the streets, others from outside into the houses, now from the sea to the land and now from the land to the sea; for in their excitement they regarded any place where they were not as safer than where they were. 3 While this was going on, an inconceivable quantity of ashes was blown out, which covered both sea and land and filled all the air. It wrought much injury of various kinds, as chance befell, to men and farms and cattle, and in particular it destroyed all fish and birds. Furthermore, it buried two entire cities, Herculaneum and Pompeii, the latter place while its populace was seated in the theatre. 4 Indeed, the amount of dust, taken all together, was so great that some of it reached Africa and Syria and Egypt, and it also reached Rome, filling the air overhead and darkening the sun. 5 There, too, no little fear was occasioned, that lasted for several days, since the people did not know and could not imagine what had happened, but, like those close at hand, believed that the whole world was being turned upside down, that the sun was disappearing into the earth and that the earth was being lifted to the sky. These ashes, now, did the Romans no great harm at the time, though later they brought a terrible pestilence upon them.

24 However, a second conflagration, above ground, in the following year spread over very large sections of Rome while Titus was absent in Campania attending to the catastrophe that had befallen that region. 2 It consumed the temple of Serapis, the temple of Isis, the Saepta, the temple of Neptune, the Baths of Agrippa, the Pantheon, the Diribitorium, the theatre of Balbus, the stage building of Pompey's theatre, the Octavian buildings together with their books, and the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus with their surrounding temples. Hence the disaster seemed to be not of human but of divine origin; 3 for anyone can estimate, from the list of buildings that I have given, how many others must have been destroyed."




Joel 2

The Day of the Lord​

2 Blow a trumpet in Zion;
sound an alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,

2 a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains
a great and powerful people;
their like has never been before,
nor will be again after them
through the years of all generations.

3 Fire devours before them,
and behind them a flame burns.
The land is like the garden of Eden before them,
but behind them a desolate wilderness,
and nothing escapes them.

4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses,
and like war horses they run.
5 As with the rumbling of chariots,
they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire
devouring the stubble,
like a powerful army
drawn up for battle.

6 Before them peoples are in anguish;
all faces grow pale.
7 Like warriors they charge;
like soldiers they scale the wall.
They march each on his way;
they do not swerve from their paths.
8 They do not jostle one another;
each marches in his path;
they burst through the weapons
and are not halted.
9 They leap upon the city,
they run upon the walls,
they climb up into the houses,
they enter through the windows like a thief.

10 The earth quakes before them;
the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.

11 The Lord utters his voice
before his army,
for his camp is exceedingly great;
he who executes his word is powerful.
For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome;
who can endure it?



Jesus returned in the 1st century to save his people and render judgment upon the nations, beginning his millenial reign upon the earth and ruling with a rod of iron. The pagan nations began to crumble and the cathedrals of Christendom were raised up for a thousand years.

 

[lifepsyop]

Evidence from scripture. If you've never considered this before, the truth will jump out at you. Once you see it, you can't unsee it. I'm overjoyed because it makes Jesus that much more of a reality. The truth of his prophecy are overwhelmingly confirmed.




Jesus and the Beloved Apostle

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?”

When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?”

Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

So the saying spread abroad among the brothersthat this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”
- John 21:20-23



This is at the end of the Gospel of John after Jesus has been resurrected. Jesus has just foretold Peter about how he is going to die for his faith. Peter asks Jesus what will happen to the other disciple John. Jesus indicates that John is not going to die but will still be on the earth when Jesus returns. "Until I come."

This clearly aligns with the first several chapters of the Book of Revelation, which John wrote while exiled on Patmos. Revelation was written before 70 AD (this is even accepted by many secular historians, though others desire to dispute it). John was clearly being given a prophecy about the imminent destruction of Jerusalem.

Many Christians would like to say that Jesus simply meant that he was going to return in the spirit to give John the revelation. Yet the language of Revelation repeatedly and consistently warns of Jesus coming in wrath upon the earth (particularly Jerusalem) very soon.

Verses from the book of Revelation:

"Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near." - Rev 1:3

"Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen." - Rev 1:7
(the killers of Jesus will still be on earth to look up at the clouds)

"Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth." - Rev 2:16

"Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father." - Rev 2:25-27
(Jesus will return when believers' are still in a state of contending for faith, i.e. still alive on earth)



"When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been." - Revelation 6:9-11

(a little longer is 2,000 years???)

There are other more indirect implications of imminence in verses like this. If we take Jesus' return to be the generation of martyrs that died between Jesus' ministry in 30's AD and the destruction of Jersualem in 70 AD, then the "little longer" makes perfect sense.

Everything about the Day of the Lord, the day of Jesus' return, harmonizes beautifully a 1st century timeframe. Which again, would put us either sometime in Jesus millenial reign on earth, or in the "little season" when Satan is released in Revelation 20. The latter of which I find far more likely.


Here's one from the apostle Paul:

"The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." - Romans 16:20

Did you ever wonder what this meant? The book of Romans was written in AD 50. Jesus was already crucified and resurrected years ago, so Paul cannot be referring to that. He is describing an imminent cosmic action that will essentially bring down Satan's authority. It points to a specific event, not simply the general idea of God's judgment on the wicked. This aligns with the 70 AD timeline of Revelation 20, where Satan is cast down into prison immediately after Jesus begins his millenial reign over the earth with a rod of iron.


There's much more from the epistles. I will try to share them as time permits. It is fun to read yourself and see how clearly the truth will jump out at you.



Secular history has desperately tried to flee from this truth. The age of enlightenment was all about promoting Deism and removing God from the earth. Christians today are raised to believe virtually all Biblical history is false except for Jesus' death and resurrection, and thus the reality of Gods' works, and his real power and glory over the cosmos gradually fade into an uncertain spiritual haze.

This is mainly why I am of the opinion that we are somewhere in the "little season" of Satan's deception. We even celebrate the loss of Christendom as newfound "liberty"... We raise up idols dedicated to Liberty all over the world.

 

[lifepsyop]

And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”
But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
- Mattew 24:62-64



from a comment I read on the above verse:



"What really did it for me is Messiah’s trial.

People can rationalize away trying to make excuses for why he couldn’t have been literally talking about THAT generation by saying it was a metaphor or parable etc. but what about his trial? He was asked a direct question. Messiah answered directly & say “YOU” will see me coming. He told THAT SPECIFIC man that HE would see him coming.

This was an official, judicial trial. He was “under oath” so to speak. It wasn’t a “teaching moment”. He was asked a direct question & he answered, “under oath” directly. If he DIDN’T LITERALLY mean what he said to THAT man, then he LIED at his trial. Because if he DIDN’T come with the clouds during that exact generation, then he lied under oath. That ends the argument for me. Messiah is NOT a liar. When I realized that, I decided instead of trying to fit what Messiah said into our history (which has been proven to me to be all a complete lie & deception)

I was going to look for evidence that he DID EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID. And it didn’t take long to get the evidence i needed to confirm the matter. If you don’t believe Messiah meant what he said at his trial, then he was either lying, or nuts. I know he was neither of those things. He WARNED us to not let any man deceive us. He warned us the level of deception would be so bad that even the very elect would be deceived if possible. HEARD. We’ve been under such deception that we didn’t even think we could possibly be deceived. WRONG..."


70 AD

 

[ViaCrucis]

The Christians-only section requires subscribing to the Nicene Creed.

Hyper-Preterism is in opposition to Nicene orthodoxy, as the Creed quite clearly and unambiguously states that Christ's Parousia is still yet, and we continue to look forward to the resurrection of the dead.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[lifepsyop]

The Christians-only section requires subscribing to the Nicene Creed.

Hyper-Preterism is in opposition to Nicene orthodoxy, as the Creed quite clearly and unambiguously states that Christ's Parousia is still yet, and we continue to look forward to the resurrection of the dead.

-CryptoLutheran

Well, I fully believe the final resurrection and the great white throne judgment of Rev 20:11 is still to come.


I now tend to believe there was a first resurrection of believers. This is backed up by Matthew's account of the dead rising and walking around through Jerusalem in the sight of all. These were the "firstfruits".... We are the latter harvest, I suppose.

Also, verses like the one below never really made sense until now. Paul is saying the same exact thing as Jesus did about his return in power. It was going to happen in the original disciples' own generation. Some of them were going to live to see it. Paul says it right out here.

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all 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.
- 1 Corinthians 15:50-52

This is all that matters to me now. This view makes all of Jesus and the apostles' words make perfect sense... whereas before a lot of them felt awkward and contradictory. They are ALWAYS saying that it's going to happen soon, shortly, at hand, at the door, you'll live to see it with your own eyes, etc.

While discussing the disciples' future martyrdom, Jesus says that John is going to still be tarrying on the earth when he returns.

 

[lifepsyop]

This is a wild documentary on the worldwide catastrophes around the year AD 536... Compare some of these catastrophic descriptions with Jesus' words in the Olivet Discourse and the book of Revelation. The whole world went crazy. I am beginning to think this was the Son of God returning in wrath and instituting his rule of the nations with a rod of iron.