Peace restored;- Index thread

I ought to write a thread, at some stage, on the subject of Peace.
Ideally, it should have been done as a preliminary to the “Peace restored” series, but I’ve only just thought of it.

“Peace” is the great aspiration of the Old Testament. It might be seen as the equivalent of the American “pursuit of happiness”. The difference is that the latter is actively looking for something to be gained, and may easily be distorted into acquisitiveness and dissatisfaction.

Peace is closer to “contentment”. It’s about the quiet enjoyment of what one has already, not disturbed by troubles and threats of troubles. “Every man under his own fig-tree”, and all that.

Peace was the original state of Adam and Eve in Eden. This highlights the point that Sin is the original disturber of Peace. “But there’s no peace for the wicked.” (Isaiah ch48 v22).

In the more physical sense, the peace of Israel was disturbed from time to time by natural calamities, but disturbed most severely by human enemies. The most extreme case was the fall of Jerusalem to the armies of Babylon, and the consequent destruction of the kingdom.

The prophets of Israel responded to the constant threat of enemies by promising a final battle in which the Lord would deal with all these enemies once and for all, so that they would never appear again; The Last Battle in Old Testament prophecy So the Peace that was broken by Babylon would be restored.

However, the restoration of Peace would not be complete unless every other obstacle to Peace was also removed, so this becomes part of the full prophetic promise. The people would recover their home and their unity, and their relationship with God would be restored, so that they would be living in his presence in holiness and enjoying his blessings.

But that is the Old Testament, which brings up the question of how Christians should be reading the Old Testament. Jesus told his disciples that a scribe [that is, a man with understanding of the old scriptures] who was [also] “trained for the Kingdom” was like a householder who could bring old and new things out of his treasure-chest (Matthew ch13 v52). In other words, they would hold the compete combination of the right kinds of knowledge. Take the old and the new

The Christian reader should be taking two messages from this comparison.
We need to be reading the Old Testament.
And we need to be reading the Old Testament in the light of Christ.

Therefore the purpose of this short series has been to take the prophetic promises about a final restoration of Peace, and read then “in the light of Christ”.
This involves returning to the point that the fundamental cause of the loss of Peace has been the existence of human Sin.

Thus, the prophets of the old Testament understood God’s promise for the aftermath of the “Last Battle” in terms of a Return to the land.
There was a promise that the Return would be accompanied by guaranteed holiness. But that promise has been fulfilled through Christ, in the gift of grace and the forgiveness of sins. Holiness

There was a promise that the Return would be accompanied by a permanent state of blessing. But that promise has been fulfilled through Christ, in the blessing of the Holy Spirit. Blessing

There was a promise that the Return would be accompanied by reconciliation with the estranged faithful. But that promise has been fulfilled by Christ, in the inclusion of the Gentiles. Reunion

There was a promise that the Return would find them under fresh leadership provided by God. But that promise has been fulfilled in the Lordship of Christ. True leadership

There was a promise that the Return would be accompanied by a renewed sense of the presence of God. But that promise has been fulfilled for those who trust in Christ. Presence of God

Finally, there was a promise that God’s people would be returning from their exile. But that promise has been fulfilled for those who trust in Christ, who have been brought home to the Father and may be recognised as God’s people. Coming home

These things, together, add up to a restoration of the condition of Peace, as it would have been enjoyed in the environment of Eden.

The series has been covering the aftermath of the Day of the Lord, which is also, in New Testament terms, the aftermath of the Return of Christ.
As distinct from “the end-times” in the modern popular sense, i.e. the period immediately before the Return of Christ. In fact the Bible says very little about that period. Apart from the symbolic hints in Revelation and Daniel, there is no detailed sequence of events, no political narrative, and no timetable (which probably means that we don’t need one). Popular faith feels the need for these things, apparently, and much ingenuity (and imagination) has been used to fill in the gaps.

This has prompted me to put together a collection of threads on the theme of “things that won’t happen in the end-times”. The current list includes things like “the re-appearance of the Genesis giants”, “the peace-treaty arranged by the Antichrist”, and “Armageddon as a battle between human armies”. In other words, they are expectations which have been created by the misinterpretation and misapplication of scripture, in order to add spurious detail to the broad brush-strokes of prophecy. These will probably be seen next year.

a reply to: DISRAELI

You do or don't believe in the Millennial Kingdom as the time of peace?

a reply to: Deetermined
As it happens, I don't take the premillennial view of the "thousand year kingdom", and offered a different understanding in my Revelation series. However, I am defining the time of peace as "after the Return of Christ", and that's not in conflict with the premillennial approach.
This series has really been about how the Old Testament prophecies ought to be understood by Christians.

a reply to: DISRAELI

However, I am defining the time of peace as "after the Return of Christ", and that's not in conflict with the premillennial approach.

Can you elaborate? Or are you saving that for another thread?

I'm not sure I understand the message that you're trying to convey in "this series". Are you saying that these promises regarding the "Return" have to do with the Holy Spirit as the one who returned to fulfill the promise?

a reply to: DISRAELI

Can you provide me with a link to your Revelation Series talking about your views on the millennial period?

a reply to: Deetermined
Here was the specific thread on The thousand year kingdom

originally posted by: Deetermined
"However, I am defining the time of peace as "after the Return of Christ", and that's not in conflict with the premillennial approach."
Can you elaborate? Or are you saving that for another thread?

It's the assumption that I've been using, either explicitly or implicitly, in each individual thread of the ones linked.
The Old Testament prophets kept talking about the Day of the Lord, and made promises about life after God had dealt with all his enemies.
I'm saying that from the New Testament viewpoint, the Return of Christ, what Paul calls "the day of the Lord Jesus", is the event in which God deals with all his enemies, "and the final enemy is death", so the promises should be understand as referring to that event.

I'm not sure I understand the message that you're trying to convey in "this series". Are you saying that these promises regarding the "Return" have to do with the Holy Spirit as the one who returned to fulfill the promise?

Paul regards the Holy Spirit as the "earnest" or what we might call "the first instalment" of the promised blessings of Christ, and I am orthodox in treating the Return of Christ as something to be expected at a later time.
So we begin to experience the blessings of God now, in Christ, but experience them in a fuller sense in the resurrection life.

a reply to: DISRAELI

Paul regards the Holy Spirit as the "earnest" or what we might call "the first instalment" of the promised blessings of Christ, and I am orthodox in treating the Return of Christ as something to be expected at a later time.
So we begin to experience the blessings of God now, in Christ, but experience them in a fuller sense in the resurrection life.

I agree with that.

I also believe that Jesus will fulfill the original promise of bringing peace back into the land and within the full borders outlined in the Bible during the millennial period.

After reviewing your thoughts on the millennial period, it sounds like there might be some confusion regarding the differences between the Sheep and Goat Judgement that takes place before the millennial period starts here on earth and the Great White Throne Judgement which takes place after the millennial period is over and human life as we know it comes to a complete end.