Hi Naomi25. I know you're in a different eschatological camp and so we're probably going to disagree a bit. Here are a few of my thoughts. I'll get back later.
They do seem to have similar content yeah.
Thanks for your thoughts, I appreciate them. And no, I don't mind that you're in a different 'camp'. I'm hoping we can have a good chat, regardless.
I think the fact that this persecution is so prevalent can be interpreted as evidence that Satan and his forces have not yet been bound in the way these scriptures suggest. I believe there is ample evidence that the nations of the world today are deceived by forces rulers principalities in high places, and if Satan were truly bound at this time, antichristianity would not be as widespread as it is now.
I remember when I was being convicted that the Amillennial interpretation was the most biblically faithful....I struggled with this also. Because, sure...there's so much bad stuff in the world, right? How can we possibly think that Satan is bound? If he was locked away, surely things would be much better?
The problem with that, as I came to see, is that that's not exactly what Rev 20 says. We see that it is Satan, and him alone, that is bound, only in regards to 'deceiving the nations'.
Does this mean we are to assume his demons are also locked away from influencing people? That Satan himself cannot use his powers in any way? Well...it doesn't say that. It just says that he cannot deceive the nations. We know that Satan is the "father of lies", that he has been a lier from the very beginning. We knows that lies are the opposite of truth, and that the truth is who God is, what his Son did for us, and how people can be free: the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
So...perhaps let me ask you this: since Jesus Christ came to earth on his mission to save a people of his own...his Church...has Satan, despite being the 'prince of the world', managed to wipe us out? And really consider this: considering that we are the most persecuted people group on the face of the planet; that even 'Christian' nations such as America, Australia, Britian etc, are now becoming openly hostile to us and rarely see people of faith in government...why hasn't Satan managed to pull of more "Hitler" type situations that have just once and for good gotten rid of us? They hate us enough to do it.
It's because, as Jesus told his Disciples in Matt 12, Satan has been bound for a
specific purpose: the gospel will go forth; Christ WILL build his church.
As to the growing hostility we see even in our own Countries...well, as per my OP...the question then becomes (to my mind), has Satan been released? Is he now free to unite the whole world against Christians? If there is no America to object to the attrocities of North Korea, Syria or Iran against Christians, would it stop? Would there be any left alive?
Which brings us to the verse where Christ says, "but for the sake of the elect, I will cut those days short".
As an aside, I agree Isaiah 65:20 describes that our longevity will be increased as much as 10x fold during the real Millenial reign.
Isaiah 65 is tricky, for both those who see the Millennium now, and for those who see it yet future. You see, while it's true it says there will be death, it also clearly says "behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth".
I think the question that must be asked is this: which is clearer and most likely: that "I make a new heavens and new earth" is symbolic for the Millennial time when he has not yet done that, or "the young man shall die a hundred years old" is a symbolic way of saying "aging will be a thing of the past".
I tend to side with the latter, clearly. I just think that its a much easier reading of the text. In my mind you just can't wiggle past the "behold, I make a new..."
