Church Age and Kingdom Age compared

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Reformingstudent

Puritan Board Junior
I received this from the Historicist web site a while back and wanted to know what those in here might think of it.
Church Age and Kingdom Age Compared
Divine Design or Remarkable Coincidence?
Ephesus The Church's early zeal cooled in the first century. Saul started out well but he finished poorly.

Symrna - The persecuted church received Christ's praise with no qualifications. David was persecuted but took the Kingdom to its greatest glory.

Pergamos - The church merged with the pagan state under Constantine and the empire split in two East and West. Pergamos means "married with power". Solomon made alliances with the nations marrying many foreign wives and the kingdom divided.

Thyatira - The kingdoms then fell into a long period of idolatry epitimized by Queen Jezebel. The letter to Thyatira actually mentions Jezebel. The church was dominated by the papacy thought the "dark ages".

Sardis - The reformation broke the spell that had kept Europe enthralled by the corrupt church. This church era corresponds to the reforms of good king Hezekiah.

Philadelphia - The Victorian age was a glorious era for the church. The "Age of Innocence" saw the gospel preached all over the world. This era corresponds to the excellent reign of Josiah.

Laodicea - After Josiah died his three sons brought the kingdom to defeat and degredation. The last king was Zedekiah. We are living in the church age that corresponds to that sad era.

Reliving the Kingdom Age
We are on the stage for the last act

I find it interesting myself and would like to know what others think.
 
the churches of revelation were actual churches. they are relevant today only in the sense that Jesus' reprimand of them for their faults are applied to those churches and individuals who share likewise faults.
 
There are a lot of Dispensationalists who think like that to be perfectly honest. I agree with the view that the seven church ages some how apply to history. However I don't agree with the idea popularized by Historicists that Revelation is as F.F. Bruce waggishly commented "a divine poor Richards Almanac."
 
the churches of revelation were actual churches. they are relevant today only in the sense that Jesus' reprimand of them for their faults are applied to those churches and individuals who share likewise faults.

:ditto: This is what I tend to think myself.

I don't mind noticing parallels like the ones mentioned in the OP (the literary critic in me rather enjoys such things), but I don't use them as some sort of spiritual guideline or basis for interpretation.
 
Laodicea - After Josiah died his three sons brought the kingdom to defeat and degredation. The last king was Zedekiah. We are living in the church age that corresponds to that sad era.Reliving the Kingdom Age
We are on the stage for the last act
<-- bold emphasis mine

We are now living in the age of defeat and degradation!!!...?

The gospel is being (has been) spread all over the face of the earth, we live in a nation that used to be a vast wilderness that now has churches on every corner, we have communitst nations that now have millions of Christians, etc. etc...And that marks an age of defeat and degradation for the Kingdom?

No way. Rather, in my opinion, we are in the age when the kingdom of God will grow even more and fill the earth even more fully. The earth is ripe for the gospel to bring fourth fruit; let us exercise faith in Christ our King to accomplish it rather then a defeatist (satan decieved) attitude.
 
We are on the stage for the last act.


I suppose you will interpret this statement according to your eschatological presupposition. With a plurality of eschatological opinion resident on this board, the one fact we all agree on is that Jesus Christ is coming again. Since He is returning to judge the quick and the dead, "..what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?"
 
the churches of revelation were actual churches. they are relevant today only in the sense that Jesus' reprimand of them for their faults are applied to those churches and individuals who share likewise faults.

:ditto: This is what I tend to think myself.

I don't mind noticing parallels like the ones mentioned in the OP (the literary critic in me rather enjoys such things), but I don't use them as some sort of spiritual guideline or basis for interpretation.

I don't either. I just thought it was sort of interesting. I had never seen a comparison like that one before. :um:
:)
 
There are a lot of Dispensationalists who think like that to be perfectly honest. I agree with the view that the seven church ages some how apply to history. However I don't agree with the idea popularized by Historicists that Revelation is as F.F. Bruce waggishly commented "a divine poor Richards Almanac."
Ditto + a chuckle.:)
 
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