An interesting question.......

[brakelite]

Kings embracing apostste Christianity and making the law (oops some got cut off here)
in accord with the teaching of the Church started (arguably) about 500 AD and
ended just about 1000 years later..

Actually, Close. 538AD to 1798AD. Exactly 1260 years.

 

[Helen]

Is the call to force OUR ideas on others, or to let the gospel (that we are to tell) to change their thinking?

True.
We can 'try' as much as we like. We can even wax eloquent when passing on the gospel ....but unless the Holy Spirit anoints those words into their hearts.. they are lifeless...only He can anoint their ears.
In our evangelism days before we went out, we would always pray first that their ears be opened to hear Him, not us.
He is the opener of ears and hearts.

 

[bbyrd009]

 

[Helen]

 

[DPMartin]

Why does the Son of God need to be bodily present in order to enable His human servants to rule effectively in history, when the human servants of the devil, who was defeated definitively at Calvary, have no problem whatsoever in ruling over Christ's representatives in history?

because you are in God's place in the earth that is the place that is for the Son of God, and sons of God.


Luk 3:38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

so the fulfillment of the same is in the earth, flesh, which is made of earth.


and that fulfillment is:

Rev_21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

 

[Helen]

This is almost an hour later...
......and now I can't get that wretched tune out of my head! lol

 

[Philip James]

Actually, Close. 538AD to 1798AD. Exactly 1260 years.

If you're going to quote me, id appreciate it if uou dont add to what i said, especially if its untrue.

If you wish to bear false witness, thats your choice, but dont put your words in my mouth...

Christ IS risen!
Alleluia!

 

[bbyrd009]

If you're going to quote me, id appreciate it if uou dont add to what i said, especially if its untrue.

If you wish to bear false witness, thats your choice, but dont put your words in my mouth...

Christ IS risen!
Alleluia!

ha well you kind of quoted the wrong thing if you want to comment on apostate imo, but fwiw we have a button for that anyway
i thought it was a nifty improvement myself.
but i woulda maybe done it diff ya

 

[Jay Ross]

This is an intriguing question and one that I am yet to find the answer for. A friend of mine published his musings on the End Times and he made the claim that Christ was coming at the beginning of the Millennium Age and that He would rule the earth by his presence on the earth for 1,000 years, but in his musings he did not provide one scriptural reference that went anywhere near backing up his claim.

In Daniel 2 we are told when God will set up his Everlasting Kingdom during the time of the kings of the fifth segment of the Statue in the statue prophecy as found in Daniel 2, which is a prophecy that deals with the events that will occur over time within the Land of the Chaldeans. In Daniel 7 we are informed as to when the Son of Man, Christ, will be given authority over the people of the earth via by being given dominion over all of the people of the earth such that they should worship Him. Christ is given this dominion immediately after the four Beasts, the Little Horn and Satan have their respective dominions take from them before they are imprisoned for 1,000 years. In Isaiah 24:21-22 we are also informed that the wicked fallen heavenly hosts, i.e. the four Beast, the Little Horn and Satan, will be judged in heaven at the same time as the Kings of the earth are judged on the face of the earth and that they will all be gathered together and imprisoned in a pit, i.e. the Bottomless Pit to await their time of punishment, which will happen many days into the future.

In these passages, we are not told that the Son of Man will exercise his dominion over the people of the earth from the earth, nor are we told who will be the "ruler" of Everlasting Kingdom that God will establish here on the earth.

What we do know is that God will establish shepherds from the beginning of the Everlasting Kingdom to help teach the peoples of the earth about the Kingdom of God here on the earth and that these shepherds, i.e. Priests, will have this role for 1,000 years both in Heaven and here on the face of the Earth. At the start of the Millennium Age, God will renew/refurbish His Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation and His possession among all of the people of the earth Covenant with the Nation of Israel, when He plants them in good fertile soil all over the earth, and will teach them how to teach all the people around them based on the teachings of the high Mountains of Israel which will be established at around the same time.

It will be at this time that the sower will cast out seed into the good soil of the field and will bring in a great harvest into God's storehouse.

This is what the eschatology found in the scriptures tells me will happen.

It does not tell me about Christ returning in our near future to rule the earth from the face of the earth as many "Christians" believe will happen.

But, perhaps it is time for me to pause my own musings and allow others to express their thoughts.

Shalom

 

[brakelite]

If you're going to quote me, id appreciate it if uou dont add to what i said, especially if its untrue.

If you wish to bear false witness, thats your choice, but dont put your words in my mouth...

Christ IS risen!
Alleluia!

Not untrue at all. The First king to support the apostate church was Clovis. But the true independent reign of the church politically and religiously as a power that enforced compliance did not start until the defeat of the Ostrogoths by Belisarius in 538.

 

[Philip James]

Not untrue at all. The First king to support the apostate church was Clovis. But the true independent reign of the church politically and religiously as a power that enforced compliance did not start until the defeat of the Ostrogoths by Belisarius in 538.

You really want to go there? I'll go down that rabbit hole with you, if you wish..
But just remember, you too! Are welcome to come to the wedding feast of the Lamb of God.

Christ IS risen!
Alleluia!

 

[Naomi25]

Would you consider looking at Matthew 7:13-14 in a way you may not have been taught?

"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

That is, He is urging His disciples to consider the present situation they witness round about them. They are to look around them and see that so many souls are presently perishing, so few men are seeking righteousness and salvation. What will they do about this sad predicament? Do they love Him enough to seek its reversal? Christ's challenge to them is ethical.

In John 4:35 He urges the dim-eyed disciples to see that there was much work to be done: "Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” In Matthew 7 He warns against false prophets that will arise among the people (Matt. 7:15-20). Then He warns that a man must hear and act upon His words (Matt. 7:21-27). His disciples must feel the horror of the present vastness of the multitude entering the broad way to destruction.

Certainly the gate is narrow: only He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). But His statement in Matthew 7:13-14 does not imply that it will always and forever be the case that few will be saved in every era of history. In fact, there are numerous indications, as we have seen, that a great multitude of men will be saved, that the world as an organic system will experience the redeeming work of Christ, that all of His enemies will be subdued.

The Fall of Adam has taken an enormous toll upon the race of man, to be sure. But the resurrection and ascension of Christ will surely outstrip the effects of the Fall as history unfolds. This is why He delays His coming, so that He may gather the elect in. "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

That the Lord is using the statement in Matthew 7:13-14 as an ethical prod rather than a prophetic expectation is evident from His use of it in another context. In Luke 13:23, we read: "Then one said to Him, 'Lord, are there few who are saved?' And He said to them, 'Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, "Lord, Lord, open for us,” and He will answer and say to you, "I do not know you, where you are from.” “ (Luke 13:24-25). Here He refuses to answer the question regarding the number of the saved. This was one of those questions that was asked in order to evade Christ's call to righteousness. The Lord was not prone to allow such rabbit trails to lead Him away from calling men to commitment. His statement in Matthew 7:13-14 served His purpose. Let us avoid this particular rabbit trail.

I would say that you are certainly not wrong in that Christ is using this as an ethical call. But it still doesn't not diminish the practical nature of the example. Many people are perishing. Yes that should motivate us, but even though we 'send people out' and minister as we can, they remain hard hearted. We see this.
And as for a future time when perhaps a generation will 'all' or mostly be saved. Who can truly say but God? But I would point out that saying "a great multitude" does not necessarily mean a whole generation must come in. The way the worlds population grows, the Christian population flourishes as well, even though we are the minority against unbelievers. They say that in this century alone there have been more Christian martyrs then in all of history before us.
Just because we see in heaven a great multitude of believers from every tongue and nation, does not really mean there are not many more unbelievers in hell... sadly.

 

[Windmillcharge]

It sounds good, but we know it isn't true. We can't, on the one hand, state something like this.... then turn right around and deride the scientific community as mostly not believing in God... or talk about the thousands of Godless professors in our colleges. Someone is peddling BS.... and some of us are buying it.

First off, I don't reride the scientific community.
2nd, without the basic Christian philisophical ideas that a consistent, reasonable God created the universe, there is no explanation as to why the universe is consistent, reasonable and understandable.
3rd can you point out any ideas or social developments that do not depend on Christian philisophical ideas?

 

[Willie T]

First off, I don't reride the scientific community.
2nd, without the basic Christian philisophical ideas that a consistent, reasonable God created the universe, there is no explanation as to why the universe is consistent, reasonable and understandable.
3rd can you point out any ideas or social developments that do not depend on Christian philisophical ideas?

I wish this were true, but even Jesus pointed out that the ungodly love their friends. And He said, "You who are evil know how to do good things.... who among you, if your son asked for a fish...." etc.

We very often mistake being a good person with loving God (being Christian), and sadly, it just isn't so. Gandhi, Hari-krishna, and thousands on down through history held to "goodly principles"... but not Godly beliefs... and they all did many good things for humanity.