Changes

==== A Thousand Years of Peace ====

==== A Thousand Years of Peace ====

The Book of [[Revelation]] makes prominent reference to an era lasting for a thousand years--a "millennium"--during which God will physically confine [[Satan]], and after which Satan will be released for one last period.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Revelation|chap=20|verses=1-3|version=KJV}}</ref> But Jesus says, in the New Testament, that He will return to earth again after ascending into heaven The obvious question arises: when will Jesus return, in relationship to this thousand-year period of peace?

The Book of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]] makes prominent reference to an era lasting for a thousand years--a "millennium"--during which God will physically confine [[Satan]], and after which Satan will be released for one last period.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Revelation|chap=20|verses=1-3|version=KJV}}</ref> But Jesus says, in the New Testament, that He will return to earth again after ascending into heaven The obvious question arises: when will Jesus return, in relationship to this thousand-year period of peace?

# [[Premillennialism]] holds that Christ will return to earth ''before'' the thousand years begin, and that during that thousand years He will rule the world and mankind directly from the city of [[Jerusalem]], which He will use as His capital city.

# [[Premillennialism]] holds that Christ will return to earth ''before'' the thousand years begin, and that during that thousand years He will rule the world and mankind directly from the city of [[Jerusalem]], which He will use as His capital city.

==== Unfulfilled Prophecy? ====

==== Unfulfilled Prophecy? ====

Certain prophecies that the author of [[Revelation]] and other prophets (including [[Daniel]], [[Isaiah (prophet)|Isaiah]], [[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]], [[Zechariah (prophet)|Zechariah]], and [[Malachi (prophet)|Malachi]]) wrote down, did not come to pass within the time frame of the Bible. Some say that they ''still'' have not come to pass, and herein lies perhaps the most bitter of the disputes among prophecy students:

Certain prophecies that the author of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]] and other prophets (including [[Daniel]], [[Isaiah (prophet)|Isaiah]], [[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]], [[Zechariah (prophet)|Zechariah]], and [[Malachi (prophet)|Malachi]]) wrote down, did not come to pass within the time frame of the Bible. Some say that they ''still'' have not come to pass, and herein lies perhaps the most bitter of the disputes among prophecy students:

# [[Futurism]] holds that these prophecies have not yet come to pass, and still remain to come to pass. Futurists closely follow current events for signs that these prophecies are about to come to pass in the present day. A key concern of futurists is the baleful prophecy that in the last seven years before Jesus' return to earth, a totalitarian dictatorship will arise that will exceed by several orders of magnitude the power, the scope, and the atrocity of [[Nazi]] Germany during [[World War II]].<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Revelation|chap=13|verses=1-18|version=KJV}}</ref> This concern has led many of them to express great fear that the [[United Nations]], or alternatively a possible reinvention of the [[Baghdad Caliphate]], will be that dictatorship, or its progenitor.

# [[Futurism]] holds that these prophecies have not yet come to pass, and still remain to come to pass. Futurists closely follow current events for signs that these prophecies are about to come to pass in the present day. A key concern of futurists is the baleful prophecy that in the last seven years before Jesus' return to earth, a totalitarian dictatorship will arise that will exceed by several orders of magnitude the power, the scope, and the atrocity of [[Nazi]] Germany during [[World War II]].<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Revelation|chap=13|verses=1-18|version=KJV}}</ref> This concern has led many of them to express great fear that the [[United Nations]], or alternatively a possible reinvention of the [[Baghdad Caliphate]], will be that dictatorship, or its progenitor.