Re: 1000 Years Discipline
I rely on some things when thinking about this subject.
1. The Bible is not completely clear
2. God is righteous in His judgments
3. God judges each one of us individually based on our deeds and the condition of our heart. There is no group aspect to this judgment. It is entirely individual as siblings in Christ.
4. Do not be afraid. Jesus says this a lot.
5. My Father in heaven loves me
The verses regarding "weeping and gnashing of teeth" are not clear as to their targets. They could be referring to the "good believers vs. bad believers" or "believers vs. non-believers". As a result, I think about what the Bible says, the nature of God and how He has dealt with me in all aspects of my life to form an opinion here. It is just an opinion.
I believe that the real goal for us now is to become as fully mature in Christ as possible (Ephesians 4). I believe that the process of growth includes making mistakes and having problems that we can't find our way past. However, if we focus on the Lord then we will mature. We may not know or be fully willing to mature as much as we could, but we should be encouraged to grow as much as possible and to ask God to supply where there is any lack of ability or willingness.
With all these things in mind, I completely set aside trying to definitively resolve this issue about believers being in "outer darkness" for some or all of the Millennial kingdom. God has a plan for each one of us to FULLY participate in eternity (beyond the Millennial kingdom) and He consistently sets forward the idea of rewards vs. punishments under both the Old Covenant and the New Testament. Whatever I have to go through to reach the measure of maturity God has in mind for me, I simply ask for Him to supply me with what I need to walk the path. On the day we are judged as believers, we will all fall short, but we have a good and loving Father who is judging us. Yes, he is righteous, but I am not afraid because of how I see He has taken care of me so far through all the good and bad things I have done and all the good and bad things in my heart.
Matt
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