✪ Questionable: Dan. 6:22 (?); 1Th. 4:16 (?);
✪ Commentary on the Tanakh. Believed by the rabbis to have been begun by the prophet Ezra circa 444 B.C.E. "The Midrash (textual study, textual interpretation) was actually a formed doctrinal and homiletical exposition of the Hebrew Scriptures written in Hebrew and Aramaic. Midrashim (plural) were collected into a body of material between 100 B.C. and A.D. 300. Within the Midrash were two major parts: the Halakah (procedure), a further expansion of the Torah only, and the Haggada (declaration, explanation), being commentaries on the entire Old Testament. These Midrashim differed from the Targums in that the former were actually commentaries, whereas the latter wer paraphrases." Ref-0075, p. 503.
✪ "A false spiritualizing, allegorizing, and idealizing, interpretation has contributed to rob the predictions concerning Israel of their realistic value, failing to discriminate between what is common to Jew and Gentile alike, in the one spiritual salvation which comes to all, and what ispeculiar to literal Israel, as the people bringing salvation to the world, and ordained in the future, as in the past, to a distinguished place in the kingdom of God. As a result of this false lure, “blindness in part” has happened to the Gentiles until Israel is saved, a blindness that affects all eschatological questions, and has brought the Church, in may places, to regard the doctrine of the pre-millennial coming of Israel's Messiah as a “Jewish fable” not to be believed." Ref-0734, xii. "It is a very common opinion, widely spread throughout Christendom, and in most cases believed to be true, that “the thousand years” of which John speaks in the Apocalypse, Rev. xx:1-7, are mentioned nowhere else in the sacred Scriptures. The doctrine of a millennial kingdom on earth, introduced by the advent of Christ in His glory, is a Jewish fable without support from the word of God. A deeper study of the sacred volume dissipates this false prejudice and reveals the fact that, not only are “the thousand years” of which John speaks found everywhere in both Testaments, but that next to the eternal state, the millennial blessedness of God's people on earth, and of the nations, is the one high point in all prophecy, from Moses to John, the bright, broad tableland of all eschatology." Ref-0734, p 1. "Peter affirms this in Acts 3:18-21 revealing that he continued to have his original understanding of national restoration under the New Covenant in the Millennial Kingdom. The restoration terminology he employed in these verses, predicated upon national Israel’s reveals the hope of New Covenant fulfillment in the national Land. The "times of refreshing" are said by Peter to "come from the presence of the Lord" (vs. 19). This may imply the geographical enthronement of the Glorified Messiah within the eschatological Temple in the Millennial Jerusalem (cf. Jeremiah 3:17; Ezekiel 37:27; 43:7; 48:35). The sequence of events spoken of by Peter in verses 19-21 are characteristic of the national restoration promised to Israel: national repentance (vs. 19a; cf. Zechariah 12:10-14; Ezekiel 37:11-14; Isaiah 59:20-21/Romans 11:25), divine forgiveness and national cleansing (vs. 19b; cf. Ezekiel 36:25-29; Zechariah 13:1; Romans 11:26-27), the return of Israel's Messiah (N.B. "appointed for you") to effect its restoration (vs. 20-21; cf. Romans 11:12, 15), and the blessings of the Millennial Kingdom (vs. 21; cf. Isaiah 11:1-9; 65:17-25)." Ref-1356, pp. 52-53.
✪ "Augustine actually explains why he gave up belief in a future millennial reign of Christ. Concerning the opinion that the first resurrection of Revelation 20:4-6 refers to the saints who will reign with Christ for a thousand years on earth, he writes, “this opinion would not be objectionable, if it were believed that the joys of the saints in that Sabbath shall be spiritual, and consequent on the presence of God; for I myself, too, once held this opinion. But, as they assert that those who then rise again shall enjoy the leisure of immoderate carnal banquets, furnished with an amount of meat and drink such as not only to shock the feeling of the temperate, but even to surpass the measure of credulity itself, such assertions can be believed only by the carnal." Ref-0685, p. 161. "Particularly important, in view of future developments, is Augustine's further teaching concerning those who govern the kingdom during the present age. Concerning Revelation 20:4a (“I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge”) he writes, “It is not to be supposed that this refers to the last judgment, but to the seats of the rulers and to the rulers themselves by whom the Church is now governed.”" Ref-0685, p. 163.
✪ "Commodianus, a North-African bishop, preserved a simple form of the dotrine of the millennial reign of Christ. Concerning the beginning of this age he writes that the dead who have been devoted to Christ will experience “the first resurrection,” being raised incorruptible, while those who have overcome the Antichrist “will live for the whole time, and receive blessings because they have suffered evil things. They will marry and beget children for a thousand years.” For the duration of the thousand year period, God will keep all evil at bay. THere will follow “the day of judgment” for the unbelievers who are destined to experience the second death." Ref-0685, p. 156.
✪ "The idea that the future millennium would be 1,000 years has been suggested by apocalyptic writers before Christ. In the Book of the Secrets of Enoch, 32:2; 33:1-2 Enoch holds the idea that the history of man will run for seven thousand years, the last millennium of which will be one of great blessedness and will precede the eighth millennium, which is eternity. According to R.H. Charles, Enoch's view can be explained as follows: As the world was made in six days, so its history will be accomplished in 6,000 years, and as the six days of creation were followed by one of rest, so the 6,000 years of the world's history would be followed by a rest of 1,000 years. On its close would begin the eighth eternal day of blessedness when time should be no more, xxxii. 2-xxxiii. Ref-0037, p. 2:430" Ref-0032, p. 294. "For instance, while 2 Baruch 73:1 speaks of Messiah’s sitting down “in eternal peace on the throne of the kingdom,” 40:3 says that “his dominion will last forever until the world of corruption has ended,” thus anticipating something more. There is also diversity of opinion [within intertestamental Judaism] about the length of the final age-messianic kingdom. While 2 Baruch is vague, saying simply “until the world of corruption has ended,” 2 Esdras 7:28 gives four hundred years as the length of the messianic period. Jubilees 23:27 mentions, but in a rather ambiguous context, a period of one thousand years (cf. Rev. 20:1-7). The Talmud tractate Sanhedrin 97a sets a period of two thousand years." Ref-1200, pp. 292-293. "Edwards allowed that the millennium might mean either a thousand years or “a very long time” and was critical of those authorities who attempted to set exact dates (although he himself had earlier speculated that it would begin around A.D. 2000)." Ref-1348, p. 335.
✪ See millennial kingdom - Justin Martyr, millennial kingdom - Papias, millennial kingdom - Irenaeus, millennial kingdom - Tertullian, millennial kingdom - Lactantius. "Numerous historians declare that Premillennialism (initially called chiliasm) was the first major millennial view of the Church and that it was the predominant view of orthodox believers from the first to the third centuries. A sampling of historians will be quoted as evidence for this declaration. . ." Ref-0072, pp. 115-126. "The most striking point in the eschatology of the anteNicene age is the prominent chiliasm, or millenarianism, that is the belief of a visible reign of Christ in glory on earth with the risen saints for a thousand years, before the general resurrection and judgment. It was indeed not the doctrine of the church embodied in any creed or form of devotion, but a widely current opinion of distinguished teachers." Ref-0124, p. 2:614, cited by Ref-0055, August 2001, p. 113. "All three of these fathers of the Western church, Cyprian, Hippolytus, and Victorinus, subscribed to the millenarian doctrine." Ref-0123, p. 27. "Among those who can be cited [in support of chiliasm in the third century] are Cyprian (200-258), Commodian (200-270), Nepos (230-280), Coracion (230-280), Victorinus (240-303), Methodius (250-311), and Lactantius (240-330)." Ref-0081, p. 123. "George E. Ladd (Crucial Questions About The Kingdom of God [Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1952] 23) forcefully concludes, ‘[W]ith one exception [Caius] there is no Church Father before Origen who opposed the millenarian interpretation, and there is no one before Augustine whose extant writings offer a different interpretation of Revelation 20 than that of a future earthly kingdom consonant with the natural interpretation of language.’" James F. Stitzinger, "The Rapture in Twenty Centuries of Biblical Interpretation," Ref-0164 Vol. 13 No. 2, Fall 2002, p. 153n19. "In summary, millenarianism remained a normative doctrine during the first four centuries of the Christian era. It was not overthrown until Augustine brought together the concepts of the Church and the kingdom of Christ in such a way as to almost equivocate the two. However, two important factors had already set the stage for the transformation of the eschatological hope of a messianic kingdom into an ecclesiastical theocracy. Since the time of Justin, the prospect of an earthly messianic kingdom had become an altogether Christian hope, to the exclusion of ethnic Israel's eschatological hope. The other factor was the widespread use made of allegorical interpretation of Scripture." Ref-0685, p. 159. "The foremost church historian of the Victorian period, Philip Schaff, admits this even though he rejects it : The most striking point in the eschatology of the ante - Nicene age is the prominent chiliasm, or millenarianism, that is the belief of a visible reign of Christ in glory on earth with the risen saints for a thousand years, before the general resurrection and judgment. . . . a widely current opinion of distinguished teachers, such as Barnabas, Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Methodius, and Lactantius . . . The Jewish chiliasm rested on a carnal misapprehension of the Messianic kingdom, a literal interpretation of prophetic figures, and an overestimate of the importance of the Jewish people and the holy city as the centre of that kingdom." Ref-1573, p. 14. "Although repudiated in article XLI of the English Forty - two Articles of Religion in 1552, Millenarianism was not forbidden in the later Thirty - nine Articles of 1571 . “By the mid - seventeenth century the most popular eschatological position in England was millenarianism. ”" Ref-1573, p. 58.
✪ See vengeance - saints execute, judge - believers.
✪ Questionable: Ps. 110:3 (?);
✪ "However, we learn from his treatis On Antichrist that Hippolytus continued to teach a future reign of Christ in which the saints were destined to participate. While not making specific mention of the millennium in this work, his allusion to Revelation 20:6 suggests that it was not foreign to his thought." Ref-0685, p. 152.
✪ "The Holy Spirit is active as well during the millennium. He will indwell the people of Israel and empower Israel to obey God as the basis for enjoying spiritual and physical blessings in the land of promise (Eze. 36:25–30). The Holy Spirit also appears to be a dynamic and active presence for the kingdom. In Matt 12:28 Jesus stated, “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”11 This shows a strong link between the work of the Messiah and the work of the Holy Spirit. In this case, as Jesus does an act of the kingdom––removing evil spiritual powers, this is attributed to the kingdom work of the Holy Spirit. Thus, it appears valid to believe that when the kingdom of God is established on earth at the time of Jesus' second coming, the kingdom will be characterized by the active dynamic of the Holy Spirit. With Heb. 6:4–5, the writer indicates that those who have been made “partakers of the Holy Spirit” have “tasted” “the powers of the age to come.” A miraculous demonstration of the Holy Spirit, even in this age, is a taste of what the Holy Spirit will do in the age to come after Jesus returns. So the Holy Spirit will be an active and dynamic element for kingdom conditions." Michael J. Vlach, The Trinity and Eschatology, Ref-0164 24/2 (Fall 2013) [2013121101.pdf], 199-215, p. 214.
✪ "Irenaeus wrote the following concerning the blessings of the future Kingdom of God foretold in the Scriptures: ‘The predicted blessing, therefore, belongs unquestionably to the times of the kingdom, when the righteous shall bear rule upon their rising from the dead; when also the creation, having been renovated and set free, shall fructify with an abundance of all kinds of food, from the dew of heaven, and from the fertility of the earth: as the elders who saw John, the disciple of the Lord, related that they had heard from him how the Lord used to teach in regard to these times.’" [emphasis mine] Ref-0072, p. 122. "Irenaeus stated in even stronger terms than Justin that the premillennial doctrine was ‘traditional orthodoxy.’ He spoke of ‘certain orthodox person’ whose opinions were ‘derived from heretical sources,’ and asserted that ‘they are both ignorant of God's dispensations, and of the mystery of the resurrection of the just, and of the [earthly] kingdom.’" Ref-0123, p. 24. "Irenaeus, on the strength of tradition from St. John and his disciples, taught that after the destruction of the Roman empire, and the brief raging of antichrist (lasting three and a half years or 1260 days), Christ will visibly appear, will bind Satan, will reign at the rebuilt city of Jerusalem. . . will celebrate the millennial sabbath of preparation for the eternal glory of heaven; then, after a temporary liberation of Satan, follows the final victory, the general resurrection, the judgment of the world, and the consummation in the new heavens and the new earth." Ref-0124, pp. 2:617-18, cited by Ref-0123, p. 56.
✪ ". . .the saints will in no wise have an earthly kingdom, but only a celestial one; thus must cease the fable of one thousand years." Ref-0083, p. 58, from Robert E. Lerner, "The Medieval Return to the Thousand-Year Sabbath," in Richard K. Emmerson and Bernard McGinn, eds., The Apocalypse in the Middle Ages, pp. 38-50
✪ "Whatever the dominant model, most Jews expected the final age to contain features which were common to all of them. It was looked to as a time of unparalleled joy and gladness [1 Enoch 45:4-5; 62:15; Sibylline Oracles 3:371-80]. There would be peace among individuals and nations [1 Enoch 10:17; Jubilees 23:29; Sibylline Oracles 3:751-80; 2 Baruch 73:1]; the wild beasts would lose their ferocity [Isa. 11:6-9; 65:25; 2 Baruch 73:6; Philo On Rewards and Punishments 15 (85-90)]. The life span of human beings would increase, sickness and pain (including that of childbearing) would be eliminated [Jubilees 23:27-28, 30; 2 Baruch 73:2-5, 7; cf. Isa. 65:20]. Labor and work would lose their tiresome characteristics [1 Enoch 10:18-19]." Ref-1200, p. 289.
✪ "First, the OT picture of the messianic period seems to include a situation in which the Messiah is reigning in a yet imperfect world. One such example may be noted in Isa. 2:2-4 and its parallel in Mic. 4:1-3. . . . the immediate context portrays conditions which are not yet perfect. For example, God is said to ‘judge between the nations and render decisions for many peoples’ (Isa 2:4). Interpreting this as God's action through the Messiah, non-dispensationalist E. J. Young explains the meaning of these statements by saying, ‘God is now represented as one who in a peaceful manner intervenes in the disputes of nations, and settles them so that the nations change the implements of war into utensils of peace’. Concerning the Messiah's rendering decisions for many peoples, Young notes further that this ‘pictures the LORD in the position of Judge and Arbiter who pronounces decisions concerning the nations and their disagreements’ (The Book of Isaiah, NICOT [Eerdmans, 1965], p. 107). To say the least, this prophecy is difficult to apply to the present work of Christ in the world, and it would seem impossible to see Christ performing these tasks in a perfect sinless state." Saucy, Robert L. Response to Understanding Dispensationalists. Grace Seminary. Grace Theological Journal Volume 10, Vol. 10, Page 139, Grace Seminary, 1989; 2002.
✪ "But I and whoever are at all points right-minded Christians know that there will be a resurrection of the dead a thousand years in Jerusalem which will then be built, adorned, enlarged as the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah and the others declare. And further, a certain man among us by the name of John [John the Apostle] predicted by revelation that was made to him that those who believe in our Christ would spend a thousand years in Jerusalem and thereafter the general of us. . . the enternal resurrection and judgment of all men would likewise take place." -- Justin Martyr, Ref-0061, vol. 1, chapter LXXX, 239. "Later in his Dialogue with Trypho, Justin makes explicit mention of “John, one of the apostles of Christ,” as the source of his teaching and affirms that “those who believed in our Christ would dwell a thousand years in Jerusalem.”" Ref-0685, p. 150.
✪ "Lactantius wrote. . . ?. . . at the end of the six thousanth year, all evil be abolished from the earth, and that justice reign for a thousand years, and that there be tranquility and rest from the labors which the world is now enduring for so long. . . When He shall have destroyed injustice and made the great judgment and restored to life those who were just from the beginning, He will stay among men for a thousand years and will rule them with a just dominion. . . Then those who will be living in bodies will not die, but will generate an infinite multitude during those same thousand years,. . .Those who will be raised from the dead will be in charge of the living as judges. . . . At this same time, also, the prince of demons who is the contriver of all eviles will be found in chains, and he will be in custody for the thousand years. . .’" Ref-0072. pp. 124-126 "Lactantius, c. 240-c. 320, was a gifted rhetorician who, after his conversion, became a Christian apologist and an historian of the last season of imperial persecution against the Church. In his major work he writes polemically of the dead who “will rise again, not after a thousand years from their death, but that, when again restored to life, they may reign with God a thousand years.” . . . In chapter seventy-two [in an Epitome of his former work] he follows the sequence of events described in Revelation 19:11-20:15, stating emphatically that Christ “will deliver all nations into subjection to the righteous who are alive, and will raise the righteous dead to eternal life, and will Himself reign with them on the earth, and will build the holy city, and this kingdom of the righteous will be for a thousand years.”" Ref-0685, pp. 156-157. 15.
✪ "One example of the content of Millennial or Kingdom Law is Ezekiel 40:5-46:24, which spells out the rules and regulations for the millennial system of the priesthood and sacrifice. Although some have misunderstood this section to mean a re-institution of the Mosaic system, that is not the case. The Mosaic Law will never be re-instituted for the church saint today or for the millennial saints in the future. A comparison of the details of the sacrifices in Ezekiel with those of the Mosaic system shows too many differences." Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Ref-0067, Vol. 3 No. 6, p. 6. Fruchtenbaum provides an extensive list of the differences between the Mosaic Law and Ezekiel 40-48 in Ref-0204, pp. 462-464.
✪ "Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea and the ‘Father of Church history,’ wrote concerning Papias in his work Ecclesiastical History (III, 39), ‘Among other things he says that a thousand years will elapse after the resurrection of the dead and there will be a corporal establishment of Christ's Kingdom on this earth.’" Ref-0072, p. 120. "Papias (c. 60-130), bishop of Hierapolis, is the first post-apostolic writer whose millenarianism is documented. Knowledge of it reaches us by way of Irenaeus and Eusebius. The latter, alluding to certain things which Papias is said to have gathered from unwritten traditions, writes, “To these belong his statement that there will be a period of some thousand years after the resurrection of the dead, and that the kingdom of Christ will be set up in material form on this very earth.”" Ref-0685, p. 149.
✪ "At the end of the Tribulation all living believers will be raptured, given resurrection bodies, and return immediately to earth in the single event of the rapture and second coming. This would seem to eliminate all redeemed, unresurrected people from the earth at that point in time so that there would be no one left to populate the millennial kingdom. If the wicked survivors are either killed or consigned to Hades at the end of the Tribulation, then there will be no one left in an unresurrected body to enter the Millennium." Ref-0079, pp. 87-88. "Furthermore, an adjustment has to be made in the time of the judgment of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25:31-46 if the posttrib picture is correct. The reason is simple: If the rapture occurs after the Tribulation, then all the sheep (redeemed) will have been removed from the earth; thus, there would be no sheep to be part of that judgment if it occurs at the second coming, which is a single event with the rapture [in the posttribulational view]." Ref-0079, p. 89. "It is obviously impossible to incorporate a translation of all saints at the end of the tribulation and the beginning of the millennium as it would result in all saints receiving a spiritual body, leaving none to populate the earth in the millennium." Ref-0081, p. 243. "The sheep of Matthew 25:31-46 and the godly remnant of Israel left after the rebels are purged out (Eze. 20:33-38) will comprise the earthly citizens of the millennium" Ref-0104, p. 284. "The prophetic Scriptures make it clear that there will be mortals and even sinners (cf. Rev. 20:8) who will be subjects of Christs reign on the earth. Since all saints will be in glorified blodies and sinners will be consumed in judgment at Christ's second coming (Mat. 13:30, 40-42; 2Th. 2:82; Rev. 19:15, etc.), who then are going to be in mortal bodies and propagate children during the millennium?" Ref-0207, p. 95. "the resurrection of the just, which takes place after the coming of Antichrist, and the destruction of all nations under his rule; in [the times of] which [resurrection] the righteous shall reign in the earth, waxing stronger by the sight of the Lord: and through Him they shall become accustomed to partake in the glory of God the Father, and shall enjoy in the kingdom intercourse and communion with the holy angels, and union with spiritual beings; and [with respect to] those whom the Lord shall find in the flesh, awaiting Him from heaven, and who have suffered tribulation, as well as escaped the hands of the Wicked one. For it is in reference to them that the prophet says: “And those that are left shall multiply upon the earth.” And Jeremiah the prophet has pointed out, that as many believers as God has prepared for this purpose, to multiply those left upon earth, should both be under the rule of the saints to minister to this Jerusalem, and that [His] kingdom shall be in it . . . " Irenaeus of Lyons, "Irenæus Against Heresies" in Ref-0537, p. 565.
✪ "There is considerable debate as to the identity of the prince who enters the Temple by the east gate and exits by the same way (Eze. 44:1-3). Evidence suggests this is not a reference to Messiah. Verse 3 states that the prince will eat his meals in the eastern gate. One would expect that the Messiah would take His meals in the most honored place, not in a gate. Ezekiel 45:7 states that a portion of the land of the set-apart area is given to the prince. Yet the Messiah is ruler over all His kingdom. He would not need a separate possession to call His own (cf. Eze. 45:8) since He already has the Temple. Finally, chapter 46 has several references to the prince offering sacrifices. Jesus, the Messiah, was the full and final sacrifice. He will not be offering more sacrifices in the future. The identity of the prince remains uncertain. The prince, who will be the head over Israel during the messianic age, may be the resurrected King David, Zerubbabel, or some other person appointed by the Messiah. While avoiding dogmatism on this uncertain issue, we lean toward the view that the prince is none other than King David." Ref-1383, p. 225.
✪ "A lively tradition of millennialism also helped to forge a link between political freedom and Christian liberty. Speculation of this sort encouraged the notion that the great conflict between God and Satan was somehow being played out in the struggle [of America] with Britain, and that a victory over Parliament might signal the near approach of God’s rule on earth, the millennium. During the war, several ministers preached sermons pointing out how closely British oppression resembled the beast described in the thirteenth chapter of Revelation. At least one New Englander thought that America might be the stone from the book of Daniel that strikes “the image of the beast,” becomes “a great mountain” filling all the earth, and leads to the time when “discord shall cease, and Tyrants be no more.”" Ref-0958, p. 118.
✪ See covenant - priestly. "While the memorial view has much to commend it, it does not adequately address the fact that Ezekiel (Eze. 43:20,26; 45:15,17,20), under the New Covenant, clearly says that the blood sacrifices are for ‘atonement’ in just the same way that Leviticus (Lev. 4:20,26,35; 16:27; 17:11, et. al.) does under the Mosaic Covenant. Furthermore, nowhere in Ezekiel's prophecy concerning the sacrificial system, is it ever implied that the sacrifices are ‘memorial’ in nature." Ref-0146, pp. 549-550. ". . . the unglorified human population will be capable of incurring ritual defilement and polluting the earthly Sanctuary. Even though those who initially enter the Millennial kingdom are all regenerate (Jews -- Ezekiel 20:33-38; Gentiles -- Matthew 25:31-46), they are still mortal beings who intentionally or unintentionally can violate ceremonial standards. Furthermore, they will produce children who may or may not become spiritually regenerate and receive a new heart. . . and therefore lack the inward restraint of sin." Ref-0146, p. 555. ". . .this kind of sacrificial ‘atonement’ is not for salvation nor for inward sanctification, but to preserve outward corporate ‘sanctification’ (or ceremonial purification) so that a holy God can remain in the midst of an unholy people." Ref-0146, p. 556. "While there are similarities with the commandments of the Law of Moses, there are also some marked differences. . . . It was these very differences that kept the rabbis from accepting Ezekiel into the Hebrew Canon for some time." Ref-0219, pp. 458, 462. For a list of differences between the Mosaic and Millennial sacrifices, see Ref-0219, pp. 462-464. "Whitcomb's conclusion on this point is: ‘Thus, animal sacrifices during the coming Kingdom age will not be primarily memorial (like the eucharist in church communion services), any more than sacrifices in the age of the Old Covenant were primarily prospective or prophetic in the understanding of the offerer." Ref-0219, p. 468 citing John C. Whitcomb, "Christ's Atonement and Animal Sacrifices in Israel", Grace Theological Journal, Fall 1985, pp. 201-21. "The rationale for Ezekiel's sacrifices is therefore the same as the rationale for sacrifices in Leviticus. In Exodus and Leviticus God was dwelling with unclean people. In Ezekiel 40-48 He will once again dwell with unclean people, because part of the millennial population will be in natural bodies and thus will be a source of uncleanness. . . . When the glory of God returns during the kingdom age, the unclean will again be present through nonglorified humanity." Jerry M. Hullinger, "The Divine Presence, Uncleanness, and Ezekiel's Millennial Sacrifices", Ref-0200 Volume 163 Number 652, October-December 2006, 405:422, pp. 406, 409. ". . . Christ's sacrifice operated in a different sphere and for different purposes than did the sacrifices on the Day of Atonement. A common misperception is that Mosaic sacrifice was impotent to accomplish its task, and therefor Christ's greater sacrifice was necessary. This goes contrary to the Book of Hebrews." Jerry M. Hullinger, "Two Atonement Realms: Reconciling Sacrifice in Ezekiel and Hebrews", Ref-0785, Volume 11 number 32, March 2007, 33:64, pp. 33-34. "That there will be blood sacrifices in the future millennial Temple service is set forth in such detail in Scripture that it is not possible to deny their literality. Apparently such sacrifices look back upon the finished work of Christ, as they once looked forward, just as the present ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s supper look back upon the cleansing of the blood and the death of Christ in history on our behalf. To suggest these references are all to be spiritualized, or to attempt to include them all under the figure of hypocatastasis (ƒ103, Ge +3:13), as suggested by Peters (Theocratic Kingdom, vol. 3, Prop. 172, Ob. 7, pp. 89, 90, and note 1, p. 90), is to misread the nature and misapply the purpose of the rhetorical figures of speech found in Scripture. Such a misreading is a double-edged sword, which can be unleashed to undo every other prophetic declaration to prove that it cannot be literally understood, the very opposite of what Peters masterfully argues everywhere else (contrast, e.g., the discussion of the deliverance of the animal kingdom, or lower creation, vol. 2, Prop. 146, Ob. 3, pp. 483-488, and note 4, p. 487) in his most excellent study." Ref-1339, pp. 859-860. ". . . the realization of the Temple seen in Ezekiel 40-48 is closely connected with the restoration of Israel in Ezekiel 36-39; or, stated differently, the full realization of chapters 36-39 is seen in 40-48. If this is true, then the enactment of the New Covenant will be seen to be compatible with the future Temple and millennial sacrifices." Jerry M. Hullinger, The Compatibility of the New Covenant and Future Animal Sacrifice, Ref-0785 Vol. 17 No. 15 (Spring 2013), 47-66, p. 47. "One may conclude that the prophets foresaw a New Covenant age, which is yet to be experienced, which will include animal sacrifice. Again, the crucial point to be kept in mind is: the prophets were comfortable in linking the promises of regeneration and a new heart with animal sacrifices. The point herein suggests that animal sacrifices and Christ’s sacrifice were functionally different and therefore compatible." Jerry M. Hullinger, The Compatibility of the New Covenant and Future Animal Sacrifice, Ref-0785 Vol. 17 No. 15 (Spring 2013), 47-66, p. 58. "One of the criticisms against dispensationalism is its belief that animal sacrifices will be reinstituted. The criticism arises from a laudable concern to protect any possible besmirchment to the cross of Christ. However, from the cultic literature, sacrifice served a variety of important functions none of which involved the gaining of justification." Jerry M. Hullinger, The Compatibility of the New Covenant and Future Animal Sacrifice, Ref-0785 Vol. 17 No. 15 (Spring 2013), 47-66, p. 59. "A third reason for reinstitution of sacrifices during the future theocracy is the very important fact that the divine presence will once again be dwelling in the land; it is clear that impurity was contagious to both persons and sancta. Furthermore, it was inimical to Yahweh who would refuse to dwell among His people if uncleanness remained untreated. Because God has promised to keep His presence on earth during the millennium (the New Covenant) His withdrawal is not an option. Therefore, it will be necessary to reinstitute sacrifices so that judgment against impurity will not break out on earth." Jerry M. Hullinger, The Compatibility of the New Covenant and Future Animal Sacrifice, Ref-0785 Vol. 17 No. 15 (Spring 2013), 47-66, p. 61. "The bloody atonement offerings will be necessary because of the transcendent, physical presence of Yahweh as He dewells among mortals." Jerry M. Hullinger, The Compatibility of the New Covenant and Future Animal Sacrifice, Ref-0785 Vol. 17 No. 15 (Spring 2013), 47-66, p. 64. "Isaiah 66:19-21 predicts that the priests and Levites will not only come from the tribe of Levi as required under the Mosaic Covenant, but also from believing Jews who were left in distant Gentile nations (vs. 19)." Ref-1356, p. 35. "The sacrifices described in Ezekiel will provide those who enter the messianic age as sinful humans, an opportunity to respond to God by remembering what Jesus did on the cross. These sacrifices will provide a means of worship and fellowship with God, not appeasement of God’s wrath over sin. They will be a remembrance of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection." Ref-1383, p. 159. "Atonement for “things” in the Mosaic law and Ezekiel. Mosaic system: altar (Ex. 29:36-37; Lev 8:14-15; 16:18); sanctuary (Lev. 16:16-20,32-33); houses (Lev. 14:48-57). Book of Ezekiel: altar (Eze. 43:20-26); weights and measurements (Eze. 45:10-17); sanctuary (Eze. 45:18-20)." Ref-1383, p. 157. ". . . the millennial sacrifices will provide opportunity for worshiping and praising God. Ezekiel 43:27 mentions that peace offerings will be offered in the future Temple. The peace offering involved the worshiper and his family sharing in a sacrificial meal. The priests who serve the Temple will not only officiate in the sacrifice but will also assist in preparing a meal that will be eaten in the Temple court in joyous celebration of Christ’s redemptive work. One wonders if such a sacrificial meal might take the place of the communion observance in the kingdom." Ref-1383, p. 140. "The Millennial Temple is spoken of in Isaiah 2:3, 60:13, Daniel 9:24, Joel 3:18, and Haggai 2:7, 9. The millennial sacrifices are mentioned in Isaiah 56:6-7, 60:7, 66:18-23, Jeremiah 33:18, Malachi 3:3-4, and Zechariah 14:16-21 (this last passage speaks of the observance of the Feast of Tabernacles in the messianic kingdom, but it required special sacrifices as part of its observance)." -- Arnold Fruchtenbaum, 20160306193223.pdf, p. 20. "While there are similarities with the commandments of the Law of Moses, there are also some marked differences. For this reason, the millennial system of priest-hood and sacrifice must not be viewed as a reinstitution of the Law of Moses which ended permanently with the death of the Messiah. A whole new system of law will be instituted for the time of His thousand-year reign on earth." -- Arnold Fruchtenbaum and Randal Price, The Purposes of the Millennial Sacrifices, Ariel Magazine, Volume 1 Number 20, Fall 2016, pp. 8-12, p. 9. "It should be kept in mind that the Mosaic sacrifices never took away sin and were not the means of salvation for the Old Testa-ment saint (Heb. 10:1-4). The Old Testa-ment saint was saved by grace through faith. The blood sacrifices were the means of restoring fellowship of a saint who had sinned. In this present age, fellowship for the believer is restored by confession (I Jn. 1:9). The millennial sacrifices will not take away sin either, but they will be the means of restoring fellowship for the millennial saint who sins." -- Arnold Fruchtenbaum and Randal Price, The Purposes of the Millennial Sacrifices, Ariel Magazine, Volume 1 Number 20, Fall 2016, pp. 10-12, p. 10. ". . . the understanding of the Hebrew term for atonement, kipper, should be “to purify” or “cleanse,” based on the Akkadian cognate kuppuru, rather than the traditionally understood meaning of “to cover,” borrowed from the cognate Arabic kapara or the ransom/-propitiation view, which is based on the noun form kopper and sees atonement as the “averting of divine wrath by the payment of ransom.” The idea of “cover over,” which has been popularly expressed in Christian books treating this subject for over a century, is that the blood “covered up” or “hid” the offenses from the sight of God so that in not seeing them He would not exact punishment for them." -- Arnold Fruchtenbaum and Randal Price, The Purposes of the Millennial Sacrifices, Ariel Magazine, Volume 1 Number 20, Fall 2016, pp. 10-12, p. 10. ". . . this kind of sacrificial “atonement” is not for salvation nor for inward sanctification, but to preserve outward corporate “sanctification” (or ceremonial purification) so that a holy God can remain in the midst of an unholy people. . . . Dr. Jerry Hullinger of the Piedmont International University reaches the same conclusion: This study suggests that animal sacrifices during the Millennium will serve primarily to remove ceremonial uncleanness and prevent defilement from polluting the temple envisioned by Ezekiel. This will be necessary because the glorious presence of Yahweh will once again be dwelling on earth in the midst of a sinful and unclean people . . . " -- Arnold Fruchtenbaum and Randal Price, The Purposes of the Millennial Sacrifices, Ariel Magazine, Volume 1 Number 20, Fall 2016, pp. 10-12, p. 11. "It should further be added that this sacrificial system will be a temporary one in that the Millennium (with its partial population of unglorified humanity) will last only one thousand years." -- Arnold Fruchtenbaum and Randal Price, The Purposes of the Millennial Sacrifices, Ariel Magazine, Volume 1 Number 20, Fall 2016, pp. 10-12, p. 12. Questionable: Isa. 19:21 (?);
✪ "Those born in the Kingdom will have until their hundredth year to believe. If they do not, they will die by their hundredth year. The unbeliever will not be able to live past his first century of life. However, if they do believe, they will live throughout the Millennium and never die." Ref-0219, p. 389.
✪ "Several non-literal interpretations have been advanced by interpreters regarding the millennial temple of Ezekiel. These are: First view-- The vision was given by God for the benefit of post-exilic Jews to help them remember Solomon's temple design when they restore the old temple. Second view-- Here is an ideal blueprint of what should have been built by the Jewish remnant after their return from the Babylonian captivity. Third view-- The prophecy is a grand, complicated symbol of the Christian church. This is the standard amillennial position. As Milton Terry says, ‘this vision of restored and perfected temple, service, and land symbolizes the perfected kingdom of God and his Messiah.’ Fourth view-- The glorious descriptions found in this prophecy will surely be fulfilled at the millennium, but do not fuss over the how of fulfillment. This is the covenant premillennial position which refuses to go into details." Ref-0207, pp. 318-319. "The location of this millennial temple is not within the city of Jerusalem but north of the city ‘in the midst of the holy oblation,’ i.e. a portion of land dedicated to Jehovah (Eze. 45:1; 48:8,10,21)." Ref-0207, p. 320. "The area of the present Temple Compound is not large enough to hold the Temple described by Ezekiel and will require some major geographical changes. That is why the new Mountain of Jehovah's House will be necessary." Ref-0219, p. 457. "The Millennial Temple is not the only temple that Ezekiel describes. In [Eze. 8-11], he describes the departure of the Shechinah Glory from Israel from the First Temple. All agree that his description of the Temple and the events that happen there are very literal. In [Eze. 40-48], Ezekiel describes the future return of the Shechinah Glory into the Fourth Temple. If what he said about the First Temple was literal, then what he says about the Fourth Temple should also be taken literally." Ref-0219, 461. "Some scholars believe that Ezekiel 40-48 describes the Temple that was to be built by the Jews after they returned from the Babylonian captivity. Accordingly, Ezekiel’s vision was to serve as a blueprint for the returning exiles in rebuilding the Temple. The vision would also serve to encourage them to put their hands to the task of rebuilding. But again, there are many differences between Ezekiel’s glorious Temple and the one built by the Jews during the restoration. In fact, it would have been physically impossible for the Jews of the restoration to accomplish what is recorded in Ezekiel 40-48. Certain topographical changes are necessary before Ezekiel’s Temple can be built in Jerusalem. And finally, there was no return of God’s glory to the restoration Temple as there will be with Ezekiel’s Temple (Eze. 43:1-12)." Ref-1383, pp. 100-101. "However, this building may be real without being millennial. Internal evidence leads to the conclusion that God was holding out to the Jews of the exile the promise of a glorious temple in Jerusalem, on condition of their repentance and devotion to Him. They did not fulfil the condition and so did not receive the fulfillment of the promise." Ref-1363, p. 280.
✪ Newton confused the millennial temple with Solomon’s temple. See Ref-1507, pp. 115-122. "The Aaronic Priesthood will be reestablished, and the sons of Zadok shall officiate and offer sacrifices (Eze. 44:15-31). The new temple, however, will lack many things that were the features of the old temple. There will be no Ark of the Covenant, no pot of Manna, no Aaron's rod to bud, no Tables of the Law, no Cherubim, no Mercy Seat, no Golden Candlestick, no Showbread, no Altar of Incense, no Veil, no unapproachable Holy of Holies where the High Priest alone might enter, nor is there any High Priest to offer atonement for sin, or to make intercession for the people, unless a rather obscure passage in Zec. 6:12-13 means that Christ (The Branch, Jer. 23:5-6) shall be a “King-Priest,” and perform the duties of High Priest conjointly with His Kingly office. While the Levites as a class shall perform temple service, they shall be barred from priestly duties for their past sins (Eze. 44:10-14). There shall be a daily morning sacrifice, but no evening sacrifice (Eze. 46:13-15). The offerings will be the Burnt, the Meal, the Drink, the Sin, the Peace (Eze. 45:17), and the Trespass offering (Eze. 42:13). Two feasts are to be observed, the Passover, but no Passover Lamb will be offered as Jesus fulfilled that Type (Eze. 45:21-24), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Zec. 14:16-19). This feast is to be observed by all the nations under penalty of drought or plague. The Feast of Pentecost will be done away with on account of its fulfillment." Tim LaHaye, Ref-0181, January 2004, pp. 2-3. Further evidence that the millennial temple and law differ from the Mosaic law is found in that one of the issues before the council of Jamnia was ". . to discuss how to resolve interpretive problems in the Bible. The problems included Ezekiel's contradiction of Mosaic law in his vision of the reconstituted Temple (Ezekiel 40-48), . . ." Ref-0818, p. 148. "While there are many similarities with the sacrifices of the Mosaic Law, as there are between the sacrifices of Noah and Moses, the differences show they are not the same. It was these very differences that kept the rabbis from accepting Ezekiel into the Hebrew Canon for some time. These differences include the following. In the consecration of the altar (Mosaic: Exodus 29:1-37; Millennial: Ezekiel 43:18-27) there are the following differences: the Mosaic anointed the altar while the Ezekiel had no anointing; the Mosaic offered a bullock for a sin offering for all seven days while the Ezekiel offered a bullock on the first day only; the Mosaic offered no goat while the Ezekiel offers goats for the last six days; the Mosaic applied blood on the horns of the altar only while the Ezekiel applies blood on the horns, the corners, and upon the lower molding round about; for the burnt offering, the Mosaic offered a ram every day while the Ezekiel offers both a bullock and a ram every day; the Mosaic offered a ram for the consecration of the priesthood but Ezekiel has no ram for the consecration of the priesthood, only for the altar; the Mosaic had the Ark of the Covenant but the Millennial Temple will not have the Ark of the Covenant (Jeremiah 3:16); under the Mosaic Law, only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies but in Ezekiel 44:15-16, all priests will be able to enter; the rules of marriage found in 44:22 were applicable to only the High Priest under the Mosaic Law but in Ezekiel, they will be applicable to all priests; under the Mosaic Law, the first of Nisan was not a special holy day but will be under the Ezekiel system (45:18); the procedure described in 45:19 differs from the Mosaic in two ways: in the animal chosen, the Mosaic had a male goat while the Ezekiel has a bullock, and in the way the animal was disposed of, the Mosaic disposed of the animal outside the camp, while the Ezekiel is inside the camp; concerning the Passover (45:21-24), in the Mosaic, the Passover was a family affair with the head of the household performing the ritual while in the Ezekiel the Prince will perform the ritual on behalf of the nation; in the Mosaic, the Passover was a one day festival while in the Ezekiel it will last for seven days; the Mosaic offered an unblemished lamb while the Ezekiel offers a bullock; there is also a difference in the number of sacrifices offered between the Mosaic (Numbers 28:16-24) and the Ezekiel; there is also a difference in the measures of the meal offering between the Mosaic and the Ezekiel; concerning the Feast of Tabernacles (45:25) there is a difference in the quantity of the offerings (Numbers 29:12-34) and the Ezekiel does not have the added eighth day that the Mosaic had (Numbers 29:35-38); as for the Sabbath offerings (46:4-5), the Ezekiel requires six lambs and a ram which is more than the Mosaic (Numbers 28:9) which required only two lambs and a ram and the same will be true with the meal offering; concerning the New Moon offerings (46:6-7), the Mosaic required two bulls, one ram, and seven lambs while the Ezekiel will require one bullock, six lambs, and one ram; there is also a difference in the daily offering (46:13-15) since the Mosaic (Exodus 29:38-42; Numbers 28:3-4) required two lambs each day both morning and evening while the Ezekiel will require one lamb each morning and none in the evening; there is also a difference in the daily meal offering (Exodus 29:40; Numbers 28:5); in the Mosaic Law, the observance of the Feast of Tabernacles was mandatory for Jews only while under Kingdom Law it will be mandatory for both Jews and Gentiles (Zechariah 14:16-21); under the Law of Moses, only Jews could be priests but under Kingdom Law, Gentiles will also serve as priests (Isaiah 66:18-21). All these differences show that this is not a return to the Law of Moses but it is a new system under Kingdom Law and so it does not violate what the New Testament teaches concerning the termination of the Law with Messiah’s death." Fruit from the Frucht, PART TWO THE MILLENNIAL TEMPLE - LITERAL OR ALLEGORICAL?, Ref-0067, Fall 2012, volume 1 number 5, pp. 9-10. [http://www.ariel.org/pdf/mag-fall2012.pdf] accessed 20120102. There is also the matter of having a (kingly) throne in the (priestly) millennial temple (Eze. 43:7). "It will be distinguished from the tribulation temple as the restoration temple by the return of the Shekinah Glory of God (Eze. 43:107; cf. Eze. 10:4,18-19; 11:22-23) and by Gentile worship (Isa. 60:6; Zep. 3:10; Zec. 2:11; 8:22; 14:16-19). These traits also distinguish the millennial temple from any previous historical temple (the first temple lacked Gentile worshipers; the second temple lacked the Shekinah). In addition, the literal dimensions and architectural and ritual descriptions of the millennial temple are distinctly unique." J. Randall Price, Temple, The Future, Ref-0114, 404-405, pp. 404-405. ". . . eight items are missing from Ezekiel’s Temple. In addition, an important item has been subjected to significant changes. Here is what is missing: the wall of partition, the court of the women, the laver, the lampstand, the table of showbread, the altar of incense, the veil, and the ark of the covenant. In addition to these eight missing items, Ezekiel indicates that major changes have been made to the altar of sacrifice, both in its shape and approach." Ref-1383, p. 181. "Several years later I found myself in Jerusalem speaking with one of Israel’s leading rabbis on the subject of the Temple. This rabbi was involved in developing the sacrificial rituals for the next Temple. Right in the middle of our discussion, the rabbi turned to me and said, “John, I do not know of a single man studying for the priesthood today who would offer sacrifices in Ezekiel’s Temple.” Again my first reaction was to ask why he would make such a statement. His response was astounding. He said that neither sacrifices nor the performance of a sacrifice in Ezekiel was acceptable. They are connected to a Temple and worship system that is not in accordance with the law as given to Moses. As we continued to talk the rabbi explained to me the issues leading him to make that statement: “Ezekiel has deleted some of the most important elements of the Temple and added others that were never prescribed by Moses. . . . He has also changed the architecture and worship ceremonies and made significant changes to the holy days pertinent to the Jewish faith. By doing this, Ezekiel turned his Temple into blasphemous place to offer appropriate sacrifices according to Jewish law.” As the rabbi continued, he asked me if I remembered what happened to Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu, when they offered “strange fire” on the altar. “Yes,” I told him, “They were struck dead.” “Exactly the point: no one studying for the priesthood today would offer sacrifices in Ezekiel’s Temple. It would be tantamount to offering strange fire.” As we see, both Jews and Christians have issues with Ezekiel’s Temple." Ref-1383, pp. 143-144. "We also have in Ezekiel’s Temple an altar, which by Moses’ law is cursed. In Exodus 20:26 God declares through Moses that the altar must not be approached by steps. Ezekiel, on the other hand, describes an altar that, without question, is approached by steps!" Ref-1383, p. 145. "It is interesting to see that both religious groups accepting the sovereignty of God’s Word struggle with Ezekiel’s prophecy. Christians have trouble accepting his words because he mentions the subject of a reinstated sacrifice. Jews have trouble accepting Ezekiel’s words because he has changed so many things related to the Temple and its sacrifices. Both groups wonder how could Ezekiel be expressing truth from God, yet so drastically change what God has already said on the subject of sacrifices?" Ref-1383, p. 148. "As a person studies this Temple and its construction as previously stated, it cannot fit in a system related to the law set forth by Moses because of the missing implements necessary to complete a Mosaic sacrifice. The missing laver, table of showbread, candlestick, golden altar of incense, veil, and ark of the covenant make that point obvious." Ref-1383, p. 152.
✪ ". . . comments of A. B. Davidson . . . concerning Ezekiel 40-48 . . . "Consequently we should go equally far astray on the other hand if fastening our attention only on the supernatural parts of Ezekiel's picture, . . . that all this to the prophet's mind was nothing but a lofty symbolism representing a spiritual perfection to be eventually reached in the Church of God of the Christian age. To put such a meaning on the Temple and its measurement and all the details enumerated by the prophet is to contradict all reason. The Temple is real, for it is the place of Jehovah's presence upon the earth; the ministers and the ministrations are equally real, for His servants serve him in his Temple. The service of Jehovah by sacrifice and offering is considered to continue when Israel is perfect and the kingdom the Lord's even by the greatest prophets (Isa. 19:19-21; 60:7; 66:20; Jer. 33:18)."" Ref-1263, p. 178
✪ "In a work which he wrote before his association with Montanism, Tertullian stated, ‘But we do confess that a kingdom is promised to us upon the earth, although before heaven, only in another state of existence; inasmuch as it will be after the resurrection for a thousand years.’ Then he wrote ‘After its thousand years are over. . .there will ensue the destruction of the world and the conflagration of all things at the judgments.’" Ref-0072, p. 124. Also Ref-0123, p. 25.
✪ "[The Sea of Galilee] sits in the crater of an extinct volcano that, along with others, erupted in times past and spread lava over the adjacent region. The hardened lava has created a distinctive black rock, basalt, that can be seen everywhere in the area. The basaltic rock has provided stone for building construction and, in the time of Jesus for the manufacturing of large grinding pedestals of which many have been discovered at Capernaum on the northwest shore. The grinding pedestals, or millstones, were probably the reference for the imagery Jesus used when teaching at Capernaum, when he cautioned it would be better for someone to be thrown into the sea (of Galilee) with a millstone tied around his neck than to cause a child to sin( Mt 18:6; Mk 9:42; Lk 17:2)." David G. Hansen, The Sea of Galilee: An Overview, Ref-0066, 23:3 (2010), 60-65, p. 60.
✪ ". . . either the believer modifies to a degree the kingdom of man that he immediately touches or the kingdom of man modifies him. There's no neutrality. Either the believer applies the Word to his own life, to his personal life beginning with his body, beginning with his own emotions, working out to his family, working out from there to his neighbors, to his associates, either he does that or his associates influence and channel him. It's a continual tug of war and there's no neutrality; either you influence your environment for God or your environment influences you for Satan." Ref-1359, 14.176.
✪ See deacon - office. Not the office of deacon, but servants.
✪ "Some have argued for a one-year ministry because the first three gospels mention only one Passover during his ministry, the one when he was crucified (Mat. 26:17-20; Mark 14:12-27; Luke 22:7-16). The gospel of John, however, contradicts this theory. John specifically names three Passovers in which Jesus was involved after he began public ministry (John 2:13; 6:4; 11:55)." Ref-0091, p. 317.
✪ "A rabbinic writer tells of an incident that explains the common Jewish attitude toward Gentiles. A certain Gentile woman came to Rabbi Eleazar, confessed that she was sinful, and told him that she wanted to become righteous. She wanted to be accepted into the Jewish faith because she had heard that the Jews were near to God. The rabbi is said to have responded, “No. You cannot come near,” and then shut the door in her face." Ref-0159, p. 68.
✪ "The miracles of the Book of Acts are also impressive for their great variety, covering at least eleven different categories: first the miracle of Christ's ascension (Acts 1:9-10); second, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with its attendant phenomena (Acts 2:1-4; 10:44-46); third, healing of the diseased and infirm (Acts 3:1-10; 28:7-9); fourth, the casting out of demons (Acts 5:16; 16:16-18); fifth, raising the dead (Acts 9:36-42; 20:7-12); sixth, physical wonders (Acts 4:31; 8:39); seventh, miraculous deliverances (Acts 5:19-22; 16:26); eighth, immunity from ordinary hazards (Acts 27:23-26; 28:3-5); ninth, direct and tangible angelic ministry (Acts 12:7-8,23); eleventh, miraculous visions and communications (Acts 9:3-6; 10:9-16)." Ref-0183, p. 408.
✪ Ref-0117, pp. 554-555.
✪ "Only a sanitized non-biblical ‘Christianity’ can dispense with this miraculous dimension, and such a faith lacks both pedigree and plausibility. Furthermore, to be internally consistent, this bowdlerized religion must deny many other biblical claims — such as the ex nihilo creation; the divine creation of life; the special creation of man; the resurrection, ascension and return of Christ; and every other eschatological teaching of Scripture including a coming day of judgement. There really would be little left to believe." Ref-1341, loc. 2753. ". . . “the laws of nature predict what is bound to happen if God does not intervene; though, of course, it is no act of theft, if the creator intervenes in his own creation” . . . It would be more theologically precise to say that the laws of nature predict what will happen if God does not intervene in an extraordinary way--for even the normal operations of nature are sustained by God . . ." Daniel Davidson, Answering atheist objections, Ref-0784 28(1) 2014, 31-34, p. 32.
✪ "It is not a miracle when something happens that is extraordinary; there are many extraordinary things that happen that aren't usual. But that doesn't make it a miracle. What makes it a miracle is when God abrogates or God suspends the normal operation of physical laws…when God suspends the normal operation of physical laws. Now there may be some interesting circumstances, you may be driving your car and not even notice the fact that you're running a stop sign and you go through an intersection, another car is coming the other way and he barely misses you, and we go whew, boy that was a miracle that just happened. It wasn't a miracle, there is no natural law that was suspended, just by the way the circumstances worked out you weren't hit, God in His providential care took care of you, but that's not a miracle, that's not in the order of the Lord Jesus Christ giving sight to a man who was born blind. It is not on the order of healing lepers, it is not on the order of giving someone hearing when they are completely deaf. Those were miracles. It's not on the order of parting the Red Sea or raising someone from the dead. Those are miracles and when we use the term “miracle” just to refer to some extraordinary or unusual circumstance, then we are diluting the term and of course, that's one of the ways that Satan always attacks, is by destroying vocabulary." Ref-1368, pp. 18.216-217.
✪ "Norman Geisler, a leading American Christian apologist, puts it this way: ‘belief in miracles does not destroy the integrity of scientific methodology, only its sovereignty. It says in effect that science does not have sovereign claim to explain all events as natural, but only those that are regular, repeatable, and/or predictable.’ " Ref-1282, p. 106
✪ Four historic periods which Fruchtenbaum identifies as miracles being common: (1) Exodus and wilderness wanderings (2) Elijah & Elisha (3) Daniel (4) Christ & the Apostles. "It is noteworthy that the time of Daniel marks the third of four great periods of miracles in the history of God's working with men. The first period came at the time of Moses and the deliverance of Israel from Egypt; the second, at the time of the outstanding prophets Elijah and Elisha; and the fourth, at the time of Christ's first advent. All of these times were characterized by significant developments, calling for the demonstration of authenticating credentials. The first and fourth were the occasions of establishing the Old and the New Covenants, respectively; and the first and third, the two times of captivity to, and deliverance from, a foreign power." "Scripture easily confirms five primary periods of signs, miracles, and wonders. While many believe that God is just doing signs, miracles, and wonders at will, continually, or at any time, this is biblically not so. The five periods (time frames) concern Moses, Elijah and Elisha, Christ, the apostles, and Antichrist." Ref-1216, p. 200. "Signs and wonders occur in rare and strategic times in history when the nearness of the kingdom of God on earth is being presented or addressed in close connection with Israel. These presentations are associated with unique representatives of God—Moses, Elijah, Jesus, the apostles, and the two witnesses in the book of Revelation. However, this present age we live in is not the Davidic/Messianic reign of Jesus or the Tribulation Period that immediately precedes the kingdom. Continual signs and wonders, therefore, are not a part of God's plan for this age." Michael J. Vlach, God’s Kingdom and the Miraculous, Ref-0164 25(2) Fall 2004, 39-43, p. 30. "One can find miracles throughout the Bible. No one questions that. Nor does anyone question that God can do miracles today. But there are only a few times in history where miracles come in clusters. And when these clusters occurred they were performed through very select and unique representatives of God and were not normative for others." Michael J. Vlach, God’s Kingdom and the Miraculous, Ref-0164 25(2) Fall 2004, 39-43, p. 32. "Jesus says in Matt 12:28: “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Jesus declares that His miracles point to the kingdom. . . . Every miracle Jesus did was a foretaste and glimpse of what the kingdom would be like when it arrived: When Jesus healed a sick person it was a glimpse of worldwide healing; When Jesus raised the dead this was a glimpse of the coming resurrection of the dead; When Jesus cast out demons it was a glimpse of the coming removal of Satan from the earth; When Jesus showed mastery over nature and animals it was a glimpse of coming harmony over nature." Michael J. Vlach, God’s Kingdom and the Miraculous, Ref-0164 25(2) Fall 2004, 39-43, pp. 35-36. "As A.D. 70 approached, the signs and wonders even among the apostles seem to wane: . . . Around A.D. 67 Paul did not heal Timothy's stomach but recommended a little wine for medicinal purposes (1 Tim 5:23). . . . A short time after this Paul left Trophimus sick at Miletus (2 Tim 4:20). . . . The last recorded miracle in the Bible occurred around A.D. 60 by Paul on the island of Malta. About three years later Paul wrote that Epaphroditus “was sick to the point of death” (Phil 2:27)." Michael J. Vlach, God’s Kingdom and the Miraculous, Ref-0164 25(2) Fall 2004, 39-43, pp. 39-40. "Hebrews 6:5 makes reference to the audience of Hebrews tasting “the powers of the age to come.” Here we are told that the first-century readers had tasted something. They had tasted miracles. And these miracles are linked with “the age to come.” The age to come is the kingdom of Jesus the Messiah." Michael J. Vlach, God’s Kingdom and the Miraculous, Ref-0164 25(2) Fall 2004, 39-43, p. 40.
✪ "to repeat" Basic part of the Talmud. Laws and commentaries forming the core of the Oral Law. Compiled and edited about 200 C.E. by Judah Hanasi. "The Mishnah (teaching), which was concluded at the beginning of the third century, covers the whole range of Jewish legislation as well as religious and ethical teachings transmitted by the Tannaim who were the authorities on the Oral Law from the time of Hillel to that of Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi, a period of about two centuries. The Gemara is the interpretation of the Mishnah. . ." Ref-0006, pp. 127-128. "The Mishnah (repetition, explanation, teaching) was completed at about A.D. 200, and was a digest of all the oral laws from the time of Moses. It was regarded as the Second Law, the Torah being the First Law. This work was written in Hebrew, and it covered traditions as well as explanations of the oral law." Ref-0075, p. 502. "The Mishnah is a philosophical law code, completed around A.D. 200, which is the first authoritative and canonical writing in Judaism after the Hebrew Scriptures. The Judaism that appeals to the Mishnah recognizes no holy book written between the Hebrew Scriptures or ‘Old Testament’ and that document, and all later holy books begin with either Scripture or the Mishnah." Ref-0137, p. 38. "When the city of Jerusalem fell in A.D. 70, together with the temple, the dominion of the priestly families and the supreme court of the Sanhedrin fell with them. The only party in Judaism which was capable of undertaking the necessary work of reconstruction was that of the Pharisees, and this they did, not on a political but on a spiritual basis. Led by Yohanan the son of Zakkai, they made their headquarters at Jabneh or Jamnia, in the southwest of Palestine. Here they reconstituted the Sanhedrin as a supreme court for the organization of the whole range of religious law, with Yohanan as its first president in its new form. A great body of case-law, ‘the tradition of the elders’ mentioned in the New Testament, had been handed down orally from generation to generation, increasing with the years. The first step toward codifying all the material was no taken. The second step was take by the great Rabbi Akiba, who was the first to arrange it according to subject matter. After his heroic death in A.D. 135, on the defeat of Bar-Kokhba's rebellion against Rome, his work was revised and continued by his pupil Rabbi Meir. The work of codification was brought to completion about A.D. 200 by Rabbi Judah, president of the Sanhedrin from 170 to 217. The whole code of religious jurisprudence thus compiled is known as the Mishnah." Ref-0239, p. 102. "The Hebrew of the rabbinic writings (the Mishnah and the Talmuds), called Mishnaic Hebrew (MH), is a different dialect of Hebrew from any BH [Biblical Hebrew]. MH was still spoken in the second century C.E., but after the failure of the Bar Kokhba revolt, Hebrew became a literary language and lingua franca for Jews all over the world, until its revival in modern times." Ref-1355, p. 2.
✪ Compiled in the 12th century by Rabbi Joseph ben Maimon (see Maimonides). Includes both Written and Oral Laws with commentary.
✪ "The term missionary is, in the present context, an Anglicised Latin term that translates the Greek apostolos." Russell L. Penny, "The Mission of the Church", Ref-0229, p. 70.
✪ "The events that led to the disaffection of many of the Indians who had spent time at Stockbridge illustrate the great defect in English missions to the Native Americans and why they were so much less successful than their French counterparts. The English were almost always trying to settle the territories where they evangelized. Heroic French Jesuit missionaries who went to live among the Indians presented little immediate threat to the natives’ territories or interests. The French population of New France was tiny and spread out compared to the situation in New England. Edwards and other English missionaries faced a situation where colonization was steadily advancing by way of settlement of land-holding families. Inexorably the Indians were being displayed." Ref-1348, p. 407. "However, the West is currently sending primarily two kinds of missionaries to Africa: first, missionaries who are unprepared to truly help the African church—wonderful, compassionate, college-age girls who have come to do orphan care; and second, missionaries who are underprepared to help the African church—enthusiastic men or couples who are eager to lead mercy projects, but whose lack of theological training and ministry experience means that they can offer little help of real significance to the African church. The work they do is emotionally rewarding for the missionaries and for the churches that send them. However, fewer and fewer of the kinds of missionaries who will make a long-term difference in Africa—Bible translators, church planters, and leadership trainers—are being sent." Joel James and Brian Biedebach, Regaining Our Focus: A Response to the Social Action Trend in Evangelical Missions, Ref-0164, Vol. 25 No. 1 Spring 2014, pp. 29-50, p. 30. "Evangelical missions in Africa is changing. Or more accurately, it has changed. In the past, the bulk of the theologically conservative missionaries in Africa came to do church planting and leadership training. No longer. Today many of the new missionaries being sent are focused on social relief, with the church tacked on as a theological addendum. By all appearances there has been a mega-shift in evangelical missions away from church planting and leadership training toward social justice or social action." Joel James and Brian Biedebach, Regaining Our Focus: A Response to the Social Action Trend in Evangelical Missions, Ref-0164, Vol. 25 No. 1 Spring 2004, 29-50, p. 29. "The radicals of the 1960s have grown up and are now running the culture, and as a result, the Bible's exclusive and authoritative message is openly detested. Shocked that their fellow citizens are labeling them unloving and intolerant, and naively hoping to regain the cultural acceptance of a generation past, many evangelicals are hitching their wagon to the rising star of social involvement. Social action is safe. It avoids the scandal of the gospel. It allows churches to be active and to be accepted by the world." Joel James and Brian Biedebach, Regaining Our Focus: A Response to the Social Action Trend in Evangelical Missions, Ref-0164, Vol. 25 No. 1 Spring 2004, 29-50, p. 40. "However, the West is currently sending primarily two kinds of missionaries to Africa: first, missionaries who are unprepared to truly help the African church—wonderful, compassionate, college-age girls who have come to do orphan care;57 and second, missionaries who are underprepared to help the African church—enthusiastic men or couples who are eager to lead mercy projects, but whose lack of theological training and ministry experience means that they can offer little help of real significance to the African church.58 The work they do is emotionally rewarding for the missionaries and for the churches that send them. However, fewer and fewer of the kinds of missionaries who will make a long-term difference in Africa—Bible translators, church planters, and leadership trainers—are being sent." Joel James and Brian Biedebach, Regaining Our Focus: A Response to the Social Action Trend in Evangelical Missions, Ref-0164, Vol. 25 No. 1 Spring 2004, 29-50, p. 49. "The formation of a separate missionary class, grouped in missionary societies, supported by special mission funds, working through mission station, through it has accomplished so much, is dearly bought while it contents the vast bulk of Christians to be non-missionaries and dims the vision of every saint as wholly the Lord’s in every circumstance, and devoted first and last to His service." Ref-1379, p. 406. "Of the 500 men who set off on this mission, only 150 returned. Oh Captains, you who preach of those lands you are going to settle or to attack and destroy, preaching conversion and baptism, destroying the land wherein you go and the natives with it, taking the Christians, who were deceived and misled by promises you gave, to their deaths . . . May God forgive you!" -- Orviedo, History of the Indies, 1535. Cited in Atlas of North American Exploration (in section on Ponce de León). "In 1796, too, the first missionary vessel, the Duff, sailed from England for Tahiti, and while missionaries generally supported Pacific peoples against European excesses, the concomitant Christianisation they pursued was no less damaging to local cultures and societal structures." Ref-1557, par. 461.
✪ Upper and lower Egypt. (plural "im" ending.)