I’m sorry, I didn’t at all mean what you are saying here, hence the misunderstanding. By “our day” I mean just what you do–predicting the future in our day. Sorry about the misunderstanding.
Am I predicting the future? All I did was quote God’s Revelation which says the things He gave to John are prophecies which much happen in the future.
I’m afraid you have the wrong end of the stick with this. There is no “future interpretation” left to be interpreted. The things St. John wrote about have already come to pass, just as he said they would. You no doubt have been told otherwise, and have sat at the feet of those who say they know what the yet-to-be-fulfilled prophecies are, but they are only going according to a system devised for doing so that was completely foreign to the early Church. There is no “thousand year reign” yet to happen or any “secret rapture” and so on. It’s all made up out of thin air by well-meaning but misguided souls trying to figure out what does not need to be figured out. Why? Because Jesus said we wouldn’t know the day or the hour of his return–only signs of it. And those signs aren’t scattered throughout the Bible like some secret code one has to decipher in order to be ready. We are called to be ready at every hour of every day no matter what is going on in the world. That’s all we really need to know.
So, the Revelation that John wrote has already come to pass. Can you answer this question then: How is our earth now different from the earth during the time of the Apostle John? John wrote in Rev. 21:1: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away…” What has passed away from the old earth that we cannot see now of our new earth? This “new earth” was supposed to have “no more sea,” right? But why is our earth still covered with sea – all three quarters of it?
And Jerusalem – that “holy city” – what has become new with it? John wrote: “And I John saw the holy city NEW Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven…” Jerusalem now [as it has been since] is a hotbed of conflict. In fact it is now a powder keg loaded with nuclear potential! There is no city on earth that is so fraught with international tension as Jerusalem is today! So, what has become “new” of Jerusalem?
Also, now “the tabernacle of God is with men” (Rev. 21:3) – maybe you would claim it’s not really with men, but with the Roman Catholic Church (the Catholic faithful). Now, tell me, why are Catholics still dying, still shedding tears, still experiencing pain, when John wrote that “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Rev. 21:4)?
And that’s just for starters. There are many more that you need to explain so we can be convinced of your claim to understanding the Book of Revelation. You claim the prophecies there have already come to pass, so you must know WHEN it came to pass and WHAT events in history fulfilled those prophecies. Can you tell me those things? Unless you can spell them out, your claims are nothing more than empty talk.
Now, isn’t it funny that, here you are, telling me that this “thousand-year reign” of Christ is all made up out of thin air – when in fact it is actually YOU who have made up your story out of thin air! Can you show me WHERE in the Book of Revelation it says there is NO thousand-year reign? You CANNOT because it’s not there – because you’ve made it all up out of thin air!
But here’s what Revelation says: “And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years” (Rev. 20:4), “And the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished” (v. 5), “But they shall be priests of God, and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (v. 6), “And when the thousand years are expired…” (v. 7). That’s four Scriptures that speak of the thousand years reign. Now, can you show me one Scripture– yes, just ONE will do – where it says there is no thousand-year reign? If you cannot, you are the one making up your story, not only out of thin air, but in direct opposition to the Revelation God gave to the Apostle John!
Now, you are right we wouldn’t know the day or the hour of Jesus’ return, only its signs. That’s what Jesus said. But do you know WHY He told us what signs will precede His imminent return? WHY would Christ bother giving us those signs if not to let us KNOW that His return is near?
Jesus said: “But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you these things… when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.”
And we don’t really have to know those signs? But Christ said we need to take heed of those signs. Why, do you want us to ignore Christ’s words?
But yes, those signs are not scattered throughout the Bible like some secret code. Christ plainly told His disciples what those signs are. Anyone who has a Bible can turn to Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 and read for himself what Jesus said. It’s not in code. It’s in plain, simple language.
