In this seventh chapter of Matthew, in His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about judging others—or criticizing and condemning others.
Matthew 7:1-5
“Do not judge lest you be judged. 2 “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3 “And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Just previously (in chapter 6) Jesus spoke on worry. Now He turns to judging others. This is an interesting transition—from worry to judging others. But I think this is what we tend to do in our sins. At first, we think inwardly at all we have to do and worry about it; then we will turn our sins and frustrations outward toward others. Thus, when we get tired of looking inwardly at ourselves, we try to console ourselves and make ourselves look and feel better by condemning others. How sad.
But Jesus sets us straight as to what is going on. First of all, He tells us that whenever we point the finger at others, the same judgment will be pointed back at us—by others, and also, more importantly, by God.
His judgment will come to Christians in three ways:
1. There will be a final and eternal judgment to determine if you are really a true believer or not. If your name is found in the book of life then you are saved from eternal hell; if not, then you are not really a Christian at all and you will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-15).
2.There is a judgment for disobedience and sin. Scripture tells us that some are judged with sickness and even death; and in some cases, God will deliver them to Satan to let him carry out His will (1 Cor. 5:5).
3. When He comes to take believers to heaven there will be a judgment of rewards, whereour works will be manifest (1 Cor. 3). And this judgment is so important because it will affect us for eternity.
So, we should be careful about judging others, because God will certainly judge us. And that judgment will be just. And interestingly, it will be measured to us by the same standard we use on others (v. 2).
Romans 2:1 says, “In whatever you judge another you condemn yourselves; for you who judge practice the same things.” Isn’t that interesting. Paul is saying that whatever we are guilty of, we tend to condemn others of.
James 3:1 says, “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. Here, similarly, God judges us with the same judgment we set for others.
Looking at verses 3 and 4 of Matthew 7, we see that we, in many cases, should not be judging others at all because we are incapable of doing it. We can’t do it because we are not right in ourselves. If we were really concerned about righteousness in others, we would deal with that same sin in ourselves.
What Is True Judgment?
Yes, there is a true or correct judgment. What does it look like?
1. In true judgment there is no prejudice or personal element. It is an objective judgment based on principles of truth, not on personalities.
2.In true or correct judgment the one who judges will first judge himself. A great singer oractor is always more critical of himself than others. A good judge sets the correct standard for others. In fact, one who is good at his game, say a Mikael Jordan, does not need to say anything to others. His good game will say more than any words will ever say. But if he does give his team mates any words of correction, believe me, they will listen!
3. True judgment cares about the righteousness of God, in others and in the one judging.The true judge has already dealt with sin in himself and sees clearly to help another.
I’ve been living in this apartment for over twenty years, and this branch has been hanging in front of my bedroom window for at least half that time—ten years. I’m not superstitious, but it is a mysterious looking branch. When I wake up in the morning it is the first thing I see. And when I go to bed and the moon is bright, it is the last thing I see. Well, here’s a poem—Oh Branch.
The Yellow Salsify or Yellow Goatsbeard may be considered a weed much like the dandelion.
I have been waking up early these days, because of the early light and also because of the heat. This morning I decided, before church, to go for a walk to beat the heat of the day. To my surprise I saw so many of my favorite flower—the Yellow Goatsbeard. They were all over the place—dozens of them. But I didn’t bring my camera. Rats! (the above is an earlier picture)
Here you see just the large pod of the Goatsbeard. It is in the middle of the day so the flowerhas closed up.
After church, though it was hot, I decided to go back to where I had walked earlier to get a few pictures of the Yellow Goatsbeard. But they were gone! I saw some of their pods closed-up, but no flowers. Suddenly, it dawned on me; these particular flowers open in the early morning and then shut when the morning is over—I suppose to escape the bright sun or the heat.
I think we miss so much when we fail to get up in the morning with the sun. We not only miss the blooming of special flowers; we miss the voice of the Lord. Isaiah 50:4b says,
He awakens Me morning by morning,
He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.
The words of this entire passage (vs 4-11) are Jesus’ words to His Father (and also words to us, to show us His obedient relationship with His Father). He wants us to have that same kind of relationship with Him and with the Father; and He wants us to get up in the morning and listen to Him as a disciple.
I think the fact that I was able to see the Yellow Goatsbeard when I went out at 6:30, and not see any of them later, tells me that God has special delights for us in the morning when we make a sacrifice for Him.
I recently had a discussion with a young fellow about this subject, and he seemed surprised that I held this view—of a literal thousand-year reign of Christ on earth. I think his church holds the amillennial view. I didn’t have anything well-thought-out to tell him, so this is why I decided to do some work on it. I first got out my hermeneutics text book, which was written by my college professor, Dr. Edwin Hartill. He wrote a chapter entitled The Numerical Principle, which was very helpful as to the meaning of certain numbers. From there I developed a 5-point outline and conclusion, which you will see here in this blog post. I also want to apologize ahead of time for the length of this blog. But I know that if you are at all interested in this subject, it will be valuable to you.
I. Three Most Popular Views of the Millennial Reign of Christ
There are three basic views of the biblical Millennium, which will spell out for us how and why people believe in either a literal view or a non-literal view.
The Postmillennial view. They believe that the millennium, as referred to in Revelation, is symbolic of a golden age of righteousness and spiritual prosperity. They say that it will be ushered in by the spread of the gospel during this present church age and be brought to its completion when Christ returns. Any biblical references to Christ’s reign on earth they say are descriptive of His spiritual reign in the hearts of believers.
It is unclear in this view as to whether they believe that Christ will come and reign on earth or not.
The Amillennial view. In this view 1000 years is merely symbolic of a long period of time. Old Testament prophecies of a millennium are viewed as being fulfilled now spiritually in the church (either on earth or in heaven), or as references to the eternal state.
The Premillennial view. This is my view. We believe in a literal thousand years in which Jesus Christ will some day in the future reign physically on the earth in fulfillment of many biblical prophecies.
Conclusions
First, the Postmillennial view makes no sense at all. I don’t see a “golden age of righteousness” before Christ comes—unless they are saying that this golden age of righteousness is only in the hearts of Christians.
The Amillennial view I think is more popular these days, mainly because they are more vague about what it is and what will happen. They are vague as to its length and they are vague as to whether it is a reference to the earth, or heaven, or the eternal state. But in both views the time of 1000 years is not literal and Christ is not physically present. This to me presents a problem.
The Premillennial view is the only view that makes sense and is true to the text.
II. A Look at How a Thousand Years is Viewed in Scripture
This was quite a task to see how the word “thousand” was used in Scripture. I was very careful to be thorough and complete. I found 272 references, and came up with five different ways the term was used. Here is my accounting of all the references.
A. An Exact and Literal Amount
Gen 20:16-17: A thousand pieces of silver
Nu 31:4: A thousand men from each tribe were sent in to battle. This number was mentioned four times in the preceding verses.
Nu. 35:5: The pastureland of the Levites measured 3,000 feet on each side; north, south, east, west.
In Ezekiel 47:3-5, a man made four different measurements, a thousand cubits each time. Though this was a vision, there is no reason to suggest that the measurements were not literal.
Rev. 20:2: Satan bound for a thousand years.
Rev. 20:3-7: a thousand years; the thousand years.
B. An Estimate in Thousands
Ex 12:37: about 600, 000 men
Nu. 11:21: 600, 000 men on foot
Josh 3:4: they were to keep a distance of about a thousand yards from the ark.
I Samuel 25:2: A man had 1,000 goats and 3,000 sheep.
Fifteen references in 1 Kings on things for Solomons Kingdom: 1,000 burnt offerings, 4,000 horse stalls, 12,000 horses, He spoke 3,000 proverbs, gave to Hiram 20,000 cors of wheat and 20,000 baths of olive oil, he employed 30,000 laborers, 7,000 carriers, 8, 000 stone cutters, etc.
From 1 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles of many things given and taken in battle.
From 1 and 2 Chronicles many things for the work and building of the temple.
The number of Job’s sheep, camels and donkeys.
Dan. 5:1: A banquet for a thousand.
Jonah 4:11: Nineveh had 120,000 people.
Matt. 14:21: 5,000 men were fed
Matt 15:38: 4,000 men were fed
Mk. 5:13: about 2,000 pigs droned in the sea
Mk 8:9: Mark said about 4,000 were present.
Lk 9:14: Lk said about 5000 were present, also in Jn 6:10.
Lk 16:7: In a story a man owed another a thousand bushels of wheat.
Acts 2:41: about 3000 were added to the church.
Acts 4:4: the number grew to about 5000.
Acts 19:19: the value of the evil scrolls came to 50,000 drachmas (days wages)
Rom. 11:4: 7,000 who have not bowed to baal.
1 Cor 10:8: twenty-three thousand died in one day by God’s judgement.
Rev. 11:13: seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake.
C. An Estimate in Thousands of Men Armed for Battle or of those Killed in Battle
In the book of Joshua there were five references
In the book of Judges there were thirty references.
In the book of 1 Samuel there were sixteen references.
In the book of 2 Samuel there were seventeen references.
In the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles were about twenty-five references.
In Isaiah 37:36, The angel of the Lord went out and put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp.
Luke 14:31: a story of ten thousand against twenty thousand.
D. A Very Large Number; Thousands and Thousands; or an infinite amount.
Ex 20:6: How many God shows kindness to.
Deut. 1:11: May God increase their numbers a thousand times.
Deut. 5:10: God will show love to a thousand generations.
Psalm 50:10: God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
Daniel 7:10: A vision of heavenly things.
Matt. 18:24: A man owed ten thousand talents of money (an infinite amount)
1 Cor. 4:15: Ten thousand tutors in Christ; the NASV says countless tutors in Christ.
Rev. 5:11: Thousands upon thousands of angels.
E. An Exaggeration in Thousands; a comparison to make a point; poetic language
Lev 26:8: A hundred will chase 10, 000
Josh 23:10: one routs a thousand.
In 2 Samuel 18:12: a bride is mentioned of a thousand shekels.
Psalm 84:10: Better is one day in His courts than a thousand elsewhere.
Psalm 90:4; 2 Pt 3:8: How God measures time.
Psalm 91:7: Thousand are killed all around me while I am safe.
Ecc. 6:6: If a man lives for a thousand years twice over…
Ecc. 7:28: Finding one upright man among a thousand.
Four references pertaining to love in Song of Solomon.
Five references in Isaiah having to do with
Amos 5:3
Micah 6:7
1 Cor 14:19: I would rather speak five words with my mind than 10,000 words in a tongue.
Conclusion
Obviously, there are different ways the term is used: literally, as a near estimate, and symbolically as a long period of time. We are now most concerned with those references that appear to be literal. Most are not exact or literal; nevertheless, a few are, and so, if that is the case, there is no reason to believe that the references in Revelation referring to the millennium cannot also be literal.
III. How “thousand” Is Used in Revelation 20 Compared to Other References
A. We will look first at the Revelation 20 references. Here are a few reasons to conclude that “a thousand” or “the thousand” is a literal number.
In verses 2 and 3: Satan is bound for “a thousand” years, and then he is released when “the thousand” years are completed. A prison sentence is always exact. You don’t sentence someone for “about a thousand” years.
The term “completed” (in 20:3) suggests a definite amount of time. If the time was symbolic or not accurate as to its length, how would the jailer know how long to hold the incarcerated one?
In verse 4, “a thousand years” seems to be a definite amount of time that “they” reigned with Christ.
Verse 5. Here the definite article “the” is added, and it is the time of completion. Hence the definite article makes the thousand more likely to be exact and literal. Also, the word “completed,” as in verse 3, also adds exactness.
verse 6. They will reign with Christ for a thousand years. Here it just doesn’t make sense to suggest reigning with Christ for “about a thousand years,” or reigning with Christ for a long time.
Verse 7. Here again is “the thousand years are completed.” It sounds very exact and definite.
B. A look at a few references from my B list where thousand is not an exact number
Joshua 3:4. The priests were to keep a distance of “about” 2,000 cubits from the ark of the covenant. Here, I think this distance was important, but God knew that they were not able to keep an exact distance, so He said “about” 2000 cubits. But the 1000-year reign of Christ is definite. This length of time has a meaning—as we will see.
Mark 5:13. About 2,000 pigs drowned in the sea. Here again, it is not important to know the exact number.
Acts 2:41. About 3,000 were added to the church. Again, the exact number is not that important.
Luke 9:14. About 5000 were fed.
Here, in all of these cases the word “about” is used. But in the Revelation 20 passage “about” is not used, suggesting to us that there is a difference.
C. In both the D list and the E list where thousand is symbolic for a large number
Here it makes sense that the thousand number is meant as a very large number, an infinite amount, or an exaggeration. The numbers are meant to show God’s power and greatness in a poetic style; therefore, in these examples the symbolic meaning of God’s greatness and power is clear. But, as we will see, the exactness and literalness of the thousand-year reign of Christ also has meaning.
IV. The Hermeneutical Meaning of Numbers and of a Thousand
I think it is quite obvious that certain numbers in Scripture have meaning. Here are four examples:
The number three. Three seems to be the number of union, approval, completeness and perfection. It is the number of the trinity—three persons in one God, and three members of divine perfection. The resurrection of our Lord on the third day speaks of divine power. The offices of Christ as Prophet, Priest and King show His perfections. Last, I will mention the three-fold testing of man and of Christ: lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and the pride of life. Here we see the completeness of sin in man and also the completeness of testing if Christ, which He overcame.
The number six. This number is the number of man and the state of his incompleteness. Man was created on the sixth day, and six was the number of days man was to labor on the earth. God brought judgment upon the earth for sin when Noah was 600 years old. The wicked man Goliath was six cubits tall and he had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. A man called the “man of sin” who is yet to come, will be given a mark of 666.
The number seven. I am sure you have seen this number in the bible, especially in Revelation. It is the number of divine fulness, perfection and completeness. It is very interesting to note this number in the human body, which is God’s masterpiece of creation. The human body is composed of seven tissues. There are seven parts to the body: four limbs, head, neck, and trunk. There are seven holes in the head; and there are many other sevens we could mention about the body. Last, we will look at the book of Revelation, which completes the Scripture. In Revelation there are seven churches, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven personages, seven bowls, seven dooms, and seven new things.
The number ten. Ten is the number of perfection and completeness. It is the number of sufficiency according to God’s purpose and human responsibility. In the ten commandments we see the completeness of God’s demands, and man’s responsibility toward God. In the ten plagues upon Egypt, we see the completeness of man’s rebellion and the completeness of God’s judgement on man. In the tabernacle the holy of holies was measured as 10 cubits in length and breadth and height, signifying God’s perfect holiness.
As pertaining to the future millennial kingdom, since one thousand can be divided into tens,10x10x10, it has the meaning of ten, or the perfect order which will some day be upon the earth.
V. How the Millennium Will Be a Time of Perfection and Completeness
The millennial kingdom will demonstrate to all that it is indeed a period of time of perfection and completeness—a time of perfect order which God will set up and display upon the earth. Except for sin still in the world (which will be dealt with) we will see the earth restored to the way it was in the beginning before sin entered. Here are five points or purposes for the millennium that will demonstrate a time of perfect order.
The earth will be restored to its original greatness and goodness. Everything on the earth will be “very good” and man will be blessed.
There will be a perfect government—ruled by Christ and His followers.
It will be a time when the covenants with Israel are fulfilled.
It will be a time when Christ’s character will be displayed.
It will be a time when God in Christ will demonstrate His sovereignty and holiness and will bring a just judgment to Satan and his followers.
Final Conclusion
The premillennial view with a belief in a literal 1,000-year reign of Christ makes the most sense out of all the views.
As I have examined how one thousand is used in Scripture, it is easy to see how in each case it is meant. In most cases it is not meant as an exact number, but as an estimate number, a number to mean an infinite amount, or a number meant as an exaggeration or a comparison. Nevertheless, there are some thousands that are meant as an exact and literal number, which I have pointed out.
Last, I want to suggest strongly that since the millennium will be a time when God will set up and establish His kingdom on earth, which will be a perfect and complete kingdom, why would He not design its length of time a designation of perfection and completeness. It would make no sense to designate its length as an indeterminant number of years (e. g. A long time) or as a number that had no meaning of perfection or completeness (e. g. say 2,645 years). I would think that, since His kingdom was so important—as it is—He would assign a significant and meaningful number of years to it—which He has! And we can see in Scripture how God has assigned meaningful numbers to many things that designate their meaning and importance. So why would He not do the same for such an important thing as His establishment of the kingdom of God on earth? It will be a literal 1000-year kingdom.
In this post we will first discuss prayer as approaching the throne with confidence, and how mediation aids us in that process. Next, just briefly, we will talk about Jesus as our High Priest and how He gives us confidence in prayer.
Meditation Helps Us Approach The Throne of God with Confidence
First of all, we need to understand this aspect of prayer—that prayer is an approach to the throne. And it is that, simply because that is the nature of prayer. According to Spurgeon, “True prayer is an approach of the soul by the Spirit of God to the throne of God. It is not the utterance of words, it is not alone the feeling of desires, but it is the advance of the desires to God, the spiritual approach of our nature toward the Lord our God.”5
Secondly, we could say that prayer is approaching…
I am not suggesting that in the millennium people will be omniscient. That will never be the case. What I mean by full knowledge is that the teaching of Christ will be readily available to everyone. As it says in Isaiah 11:9, “For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” As a result of this wide-spread teaching of Christ, all people will be fully aware of His truth, and His presence will be felt everywhere.
Jesus will teach primarily from the temple in Jerusalem, which will be the learning center from where His teaching will go out to the world. As Isaiah 2:3 states, “For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” We don’t know the technology that will be used then, but I can imagine that it will be…
These are large and far-reaching ministries, but I think they are just as important as the others. God wants us to prayer for all people, far as well as near. This is how these prayer ministries may be designed.
They may operate through the following avenues:
Magazines and newspapers. There are a few good Christian magazines and newspapers out there that focus on prayer. I get Herald of His Coming, which is jam packed with articles on prayer and it also provides the reader with about eight or ten News Briefs with prayer requests from various countries. I think newspapers and magazines like this one is an excellent way to recruit prayer ministry members, provide the reader with world-wide prayer requests, and to keep him or her motivated to pray.
A prayer letter. A letter may be mailed to all magazines and newspapers subscribers. Its purpose will be to invite…
Self-confidence is inherent within us. It is something we were born with, a gift we have from God. But that kind of confidence can be abused—when we give into our pride. A better, more reliable source of confidence, and what I want to talk about now, is God-confidence. This is something a bit different. When we are confident in God we are not confident in our strength, rather in our weakness, so that He is made strong in us (2 Cor. 12:9-10). We could also say that a God-confidence will serve to help our self-confidence—to help us not to abuse our self-confidence.
So, with that said, how do we get this God-confidence? I want to suggest four ways: by repentance and trust, by obedience, by meditation, and by fellowship.
Repentance and trust. The first step on your way to confidence is to admit your spiritual…
I haven’t tried it yet, but I have read that there are a lot of benefits to this tea. Here are three that I repeatedly came across.
It Reduces Water Weight. If you’re feeling bloated dandelion tea may help by increasing urine output and flow. And this will also allow your liver to eliminate toxins.
It Could Promote Liver Health. The role of our liver is to produce bile (which helps enzymes in the body break down fats into fatty acids) and also to filter and detoxify our blood. “The vitamins and nutrients present in dandelions help in cleansing and maintaining the proper functioning of our liver,” says Dr. Ritika Samaddar.
Dandelions are one of the first flowers (or weeds) to appear. The big ones I think are kind of pretty. I guess the thing that most people dislike about them is how they tend to take over a lawn and choke out the grass. But I have heard that they have some benefits. You can make tea out of them.
How to make Dandelion Tea
First, make sure the Dandelions aren’t treated with chemicals.
Wash flowers and leaves, then steep in hot water for 15-20 minutes.
Next blog I will give you a few health benefits to this great flower–weed. Stay tuned.
