Category: Eschatology

502. Breaking Free From Indoctrination | Embracing Love

Mike Parsons –

Over hundreds of years, false doctrine has infiltrated the church and shaped what many people simply accept today.

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Simplicity of the gospel

Over many years, even hundreds of years, false doctrine has infiltrated the church and shaped things into what we see today, and people have simply accepted it. However, there are explanations for this and different alternatives to all of it. To be honest, why spend your time trying to understand something that was never written for you in the first place?

With all of this, whether it is true or not, let us go back to the simplicity of the gospel that Jesus talked about. Let us love one another. We do not have to agree: let us love one another. Let us love the world rather than trying to convince someone of something. Let the Holy Spirit, who is the only one who can renew someone’s mind, do that work. If people are genuine, then you can have a conversation, but if they are just trying to prove you wrong, then it is a waste of time.

A different view of God

If someone is genuinely searching and thinking, “I am struggling because this does not align with God, how could this be God?”, then they are on a journey towards restoration and renewal of their mind, and you can help them along that path. If all they want to do is convince you that you are wrong, and that there is going to be tribulation and judgment and a millennium and all of that, then that is a very deceptive doctrine, and you will not argue someone out of it. I think God will renew many people’s minds and deconstruct a lot of people, but many will remain stuck in religion and in the system, sadly. But many are leaving it, and many are coming to a different view of God.

We can help them discover that God is love by loving them. It is better to love them than to argue with them. It is better to keep a friend than to win an argument and lose a friend. I think saying, “Look, I do not really want to get into a lot of this stuff, because I think it will just cause problems in our relationship, and I value our relationship more than being right,” and leaving it at that, is often the best way.

It is better to keep a friend than to win an argument.

It is a difficult deception that keeps people in darkness and in bondage, and ultimately only God can bring the light into that. If people had tried to convince me that my eschatology was wrong back in the 1980s, I would not have believed them. But God spoke to me. God did it. I could not argue with God. I just went on a journey where he unfolded a whole different view that I had never even imagined.

God deconstructed me himself

I did not read books about it at first. God showed me through the Spirit by taking me through the whole thing. Once I realised that my whole understanding had been twisted, then I found some books that supported that view, and I realised I was not on my own. Loads of other people believed this as well. But I did not find it through other people. God totally deconstructed me over a two or three year period himself. Then that was confirmed by me reading other things, and there were people who were helpful to me, especially David Chilton: Paradise Restored, The Great Tribulation, and The Days of Vengeance, which is his book on Revelation, a massive book. You can find free PDFs online here:

Paradise Restored: A Biblical Theology of Dominion (1985)
The Days of Vengeance: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation (1987)
The Great Tribulation (1987)

David Chilton started off as a partial preterist in that he believed chapter 20 of Revelation was still future, but he ended up a full preterist because he came to realise that it was all in the past. He got himself excommunicated from the group he was in because he believed that and was persecuted.

Inevitably, I think, if you are open, you will move through partial preterism into preterism. I do not want to be labelled a preterist or not, because there are other things within that system that I do not necessarily think are true, but let us say I am a realised eschatologist. All eschatology is realised. It is already the end. The study of the last things is the study of what happened in the past, not the study of what will happen in the future. For me, that is where I have moved towards.

Not the end of the world

Ultimately, my understanding of that, and the same Bible verses that talk about what would happen at the end of the old covenant, also talk about and have been interpreted as what is hell. Then I realised, I do not believe this is talking about the end of the world. So this is also not the end of the world. Gehenna is not hell. Gehenna is literally talking about the end of the age when the old covenant was put into the fire and destroyed. Jerusalem and the people were put into the fire in Gehenna if they continued in Jerusalem, as Jesus warned them would happen.

They did. The Romans crucified hundreds of thousands and burned them in Gehenna. That was not the end of their life. That was the end of their physical body. Their actual soul would go into the fire of God’s love and hopefully bring about their restoration. I imagine a lot of people would have remembered what Jesus said when the armies turned up, but it was too late if they were besieged, and they would probably have remembered what Jesus said, “You are going to end up in Gehenna.” Hopefully, they would also then have remembered Jesus’s offer of life.

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266. A Happy Eschatology

431. Breaking Free from Deceptive Teaching | Rediscovering God’s Love

426. The Nature of God: Rethinking Our Beliefs

345. The Rapture of the Saints

318. Not the End of the World

481. Beyond The Pages | Finding Truth Outside the Bible

Mike Parsons –

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We are following a book which has been translated by people with an agenda and a preconceived confirmational bias, rather than out of relationship with Jesus. Yet Jesus said he would speak to us and that we could follow him. We have the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, within us. We do not need another teacher.

So why are we telling people they must follow a book, when they can be guided by the Holy Spirit and through Jesus, who is the Truth? Jesus is the Word of God. The Bible is not the Word of God. The problem is that we have been taught otherwise. I hear people say, “We are going to read the Word.” But they are reading a book, half of which was never intended for them, the other half written for people in the first century preparing for the end. We are not those people.

That does not mean God has not used the Bible. He has used it in my life, but it has also caused huge confusion. I was deceived into believing things simply because I was taught that was what the Bible said. Now, I go with what Jesus says. I will not live by an interpretation of a book; I will follow a person in relationship. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. The Bible is not. Even if someone had never read a verse, never seen a Bible, they could still encounter Jesus and through him engage the Father.

This is why I would never encourage a new believer to start with the Bible. It will only confuse them, as they are faced with conflicting interpretations and even two seemingly different versions of God. But it was always just people’s limited view of God, not who he truly is. Relationship is what matters. I can walk in relationship even with those I disagree with, because I do not need to prove them wrong. My faith is grounded in personal experience and testimony, not in the teaching of a book.

I use the Bible only as a frame of reference, because that is how people have been taught. Yet I can count fewer than five times when the Father or Jesus has actually quoted a Bible verse to me. When they did, it was revelatory. For example, “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden…” was spoken to me when I was striving to be good enough and keep a behavioural standard. It showed me why I was weary and how I could come into his rest. The principle was what mattered, not the verse.

Jesus is quite capable of saying directly, “Follow me and enter rest.” He does not need to quote Matthew 11:28. People can and do go astray, but many have also gone astray while following the Bible. History shows how it has been used to persecute, to endorse slavery, the Inquisition and Christendom itself. The Bible is not safe. Only Jesus and the Holy Spirit, as the Way, the Truth and the Life, keep us on a safe path. If you use love as the plumb line, you will not go far wrong.

This is what God showed me when he challenged my views of the Bible. He brought me back to the relationship I had with him, and how he speaks directly. He weaned me off my need for Bible confirmation. I know many still need that, but their thinking must eventually shift. They were told “the Bible says this,” but that has to be undone if they are to truly follow God.

Some quote verses about people falling away from sound teaching in the last days. But those last days were AD 66 to 70, when many fell away under persecution. That does not apply to us in the same way today. And this is the issue.

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403. So you think the ‘Word of God’ is the Bible? Think again!

392. Training Your Spirit | Practical Steps to Engage with God

266. A Happy Eschatology

 

467. Book of Hebrews: Bridging the Old and New Covenants

Mike Parsons

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Hebrews for the Hebrews

Hebrews was written to the Hebrews, which is evident from its content and the mindsets and beliefs the writer was addressing. The aim was to help them understand that the old covenant had ended and a new covenant had begun. Much of the letter was therefore written in that context. When we read passages such as, “If we go on sinning wilfully after receiving the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,” some read this with a predisposed theological lens—for example, evangelicals might interpret this as a threat, but the reality is that there is only one sacrifice for sins, and it has already been made. If you sin, there isn’t another sacrifice—you’re already forgiven through Jesus. It’s not about going back to animal sacrifices or Christ’s work being insufficient because someone continues to struggle independently.

The following phrase, “a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire that will consume the adversaries,” raises the question: who are the adversaries? It’s not people, but rather those things that cause us to operate in lost identity, leading us to act in ways contrary to our true nature. A judgment is a verdict—God declares, “That’s not good.” God is a consuming fire; He consumes everything opposed to the truth so you don’t have to live that way any longer.

The writer refers to those who ignored the law of Moses being put to death without mercy by the witness of two or three people. He’s speaking to Jewish believers, helping them understand their historical context and system. Just because something is said to this specific group doesn’t mean it universally applies today. This is a common issue—we don’t always consider audience relevance, asking who the letter was written to, why, and when. Hebrews was written before the destruction of the temple; these were covenantal issues. The writer is essentially saying, “Jesus has come; those following Judaism are trampling underfoot the Son of God, not accepting Him as Messiah, so your old system is coming to an end.”

Hebrews with a modern Western mindset

Much Christian theology reads Hebrews with a modern Western mindset, not recognising the original audience or situation. The statement, “It’s a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” is terrifying for those living by the old covenant, as there is no grace for those who choose to continue living under the law.

We need to take the whole argument—not just individual verses—into account. The entire letter is addressed to Hebrews wrestling with whether to continue following the law of Moses. Judaizers—Jewish Christians—were trying to bring people, even Gentiles, back under the law. The writer of Hebrews asserts that the law is obsolete and has faded away. Under the old system, they couldn’t approach God directly; they were afraid to come to Mount Zion, so they set up a system of mediation with Moses and their priests. Now, however, the writer says you don’t need a mediation system—entry into the Holy of Holies is open to all, as we are now priests and kings after the order of Melchizedek. He was helping them understand the transition from old to new covenant.

Not the end of the world

Hebrews is not talking about final judgment at the end of the world; it’s a judgment on the system and the people who were choosing to remain in that system—lost identity bound up in a redundant religious structure. God’s judgment is that “this system doesn’t work”, and His consuming fire will destroy everything opposed to the true, grace-based salvation found in Jesus. That old religious system is the adversary, not people themselves. Jesus warned that those remaining in Jerusalem and the old system would be subject to destruction at the end of that age—meaning, of the old covenant age, not the end of the world. “The Heavens and the Earth” would be destroyed, which was a name for the Temple, where Heaven met Earth. And in the New Testament context, “the end” and the “last days” refer to the end of the old covenant age, but due to mistranslation, it is often rendered “end of the world” rather than “end of the age”—and this completely changes the meaning. Some English translations have elsewhere turned “this generation” into “this race,” further muddying the intended message.

The writer of Hebrews consistently points to Christ as the one true and final sacrifice for sin, once and for all. He was helping his readers understand the power of the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the reality of the new covenant—using language and concepts familiar to their Jewish context. Many modern readers misunderstand this because they interpret it through a contemporary Christian theological filter.

Old Testament quotations such as “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” or “The Lord will judge his people,” are also misunderstood. God did judge the old covenant system, which came to an end. The new covenant was, in essence, re-birthed out of the ending of the old. As Jesus described in Matthew 24, these were the birth pangs of the new, not the death throes of the old—birth pangs lead to something being born.

Hebrews from the evangelical viewpoint

If you read Hebrews at face value, from the viewpoint of evangelical conditioning, you might draw all the wrong conclusions, missing the overall purpose of the book. For example, the passage about striving to enter rest refers to their striving within a religious system for something that the man-made system could never provide. We, on the other hand, already rest in the finished work of Jesus, included in Him. Yet people often think they need to strive because “the Bible says so”—but that is taking things out of context.

This shows the problems caused by the doctrine of sola scriptura, where every verse is read as something to apply directly to our lives today, without considering context. Such literalism creates many unnecessary difficulties for believers.

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All Mike’s books, including The Eschatology of the Restoration of All Things, Into the Dark Cloud and Unconditional Love, are available to order from online and local booksellers or to buy as ebooks for instant download from our website.
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266. A Happy Eschatology

406. Recognise the Finished Work of Jesus

318. Not the End of the World

345. The Rapture of the Saints

Mike Parsons – 

“The Rapture’s Coming!”

Every time there’s any sort of sign in the heavens, people say, “Oh yeah, the rapture’s coming, blah blah blah blah blah.” I mean, half the Amazon rainforest has been cut down to produce books about the rapture, and none of them came true. I’ve got a whole shelf filled with those books that people have either sent me or I used to have, that I keep just as a reminder that it’s never going to happen.

It won’t. It’s all based in a wrong understanding of God’s purpose, based in a theology which was a rejection of the Holy Spirit back in the 1820s. The Brethren – dispensation, millennialism, rapture theology all came from the same source. Zionism also. It’s all the fruit of a poisonous tree, sadly, but people buy into it hook, line and sinker. Any time there’s any sort of thing that happens in the world, you get all the crazies coming out, sadly. They’re well-meaning, a lot of them. It’s deceiving. It’s just a huge deception.

Whenever you reject the Holy Spirit, you’re opening yourself up for demonic deception. The whole Brethren movement, which was inspired by God for the priesthood of all believers, saw many believers come out of the institutions to look for a simpler way of engaging house to house. The Holy Spirit fell on them with prophecy, tongues, and gifts in the 1820s.

Ultimately, they rejected that, some of them. Deception came upon them, and then they needed a theology that explained why the Holy Spirit wasn’t for today, which they came up with: dispensationalism and cessationism as part of that. Then, along with that, came the rapture, the whole deception of it. Scofield was paid by a Jewish source to promote that because it plays into the hands of those who are looking for a one-world governmental system on earth. All it does is rob us of our authority to bring the Kingdom now and promotes fear.

Cult-like Deception

There was a lady in the States who killed two of her children because she didn’t want them to go through the [tribulation]. That was last year [2021] because it was supposed to be February the 24th that the rapture was going to happen. She actually killed two children because she did not want them to go through the tribulation. That’s how deceptive it was, but it becomes very cult-like because it’s a very controlling thing. We need to see it exposed; more and more people need to be set free from that deception. People will throw out the rapture, but they’ll keep the millennium because they’ve not yet realised it came from the same source. Or they’ll keep Zionism, not realising it came from the same source. That’s part of the problem: people are not discerning, and they don’t find out. They just believe what they’re told, and if you hear it enough, you think it must be true. That’s true. People do believe it because they’ve been told, and they kept being told.

I was brought up with it. I was in the Brethren Church. I know the roots of it. I researched it. I found all the books of the early Brethren fathers and what they shared, and how good it was in the beginning. But you could see when it went off, and you could see when deception came in because the writings changed. The tone of them changed. They became judgmental. The love went out of them. You can see it in just what was written, how it was written. Everything changed from the inspiration that they had.

If they had continued, you would have had Azusa Street-type revival 80 years before it happened. But they rejected it, and it took 80 years for that to come round again. The most ironic thing, and this is a huge irony, the Brethren movement does not allow women to speak, and they don’t believe in prophecy. But when the Holy Spirit was moving on that group, a woman called Mary Margaret McDonald prophesied a vision, and they based the rapture teaching on that prophecy. But they don’t believe women can speak, and they don’t believe prophecy, but they based the teaching on it and mixed it with a Jesuit priest’s teaching, and came up with that whole system of belief which hijacked the seminaries around the world for the best part of a hundred years.

Impact on Mainstream Christianity

It is still taught in most seminaries around the world, unless you come from a Reformed background. Most of the other charismatic seminaries teach it because they were totally hoodwinked by it. The Scofield Bible, which was commissioned and paid for with an agenda that wasn’t from a Christian, promoted that. The Scofield was a King James Version that contained all the notes related to the rapture, the seven dispensations and cessationism, all in the notes. That infiltrated the seminaries around the world, and then most of the missionaries’ teaching, and the evangelical movement were actually taught from those seminaries.

That’s why it’s so infiltrated mainstream because it got in through the seminaries, and then that went out through and infiltrated most of the evangelical movement. It wasn’t really until the charismatic movement started to bring people back to a restored relationship where they could hear God for themselves, that people started to question some of those things.

When I got baptised in the Spirit in 1986, the first thing God said to me was, “You need to understand kingdom and covenant.” Well, I thought I knew what kingdom and covenant meant because I’d been brought up in the Brethren movement. That’s all they talked about: the kingdom coming a thousand years after all this stuff. It took me three years of going back with God through the Bible, because He just did it. I didn’t read another book: I just went through the Bible. He showed me the whole error of all of it, and I found a whole different view of what is going to happen, which has led me and helped me to come and embrace restoration and everything else. But that was a long time ago.

I already had a lot of deconstruction from futurist eschatology 40 years ago. Now, it’s so easy to see how all this works together with what God is doing to restore. I didn’t have all of that negative stuff. I had a lot of demons cast out of me. I had a lot of religious spirits specifically from that movement. It was a deceptive movement: it was birthed in God – and rejected God for an error. When you do that, you open yourself up to deception. It has had probably the biggest deceptive influence on mainstream Christianity in the last 200 years. A huge deception.

Mike goes into much more detail on these subjects in his book The Eschatology of the Restoration of All Things, available in paperback or as an ebook.  Click here or on the image above for details.

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324. Complete Salvation in Christ

Mike Parsons

The Finished Work of Christ

  • The finished work of Christ has accomplished everything necessary for our complete salvation. There is nothing else to be done.
  • All the promises and covenants of God are fully and completely fulfilled in Jesus. There is nothing and no one else who could complete or fulfil them.
  • We are all included in Jesus and have received life through him, just as all died in Adam.

The Universality of Salvation

  • As in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. All have received life, though not everyone is aware of this reality yet.
  • The ministry of believers is to help people understand this amazing inclusion and reality that all have been given life in Christ.

The Universality of Sin

  • The Bible verse “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) is often used to tell people they are not good enough and need God.
  • The reality is that all have outworked their lost identity, which is short of the glory God intended for us.

Justification by Grace

  • The ‘all’ who have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (in Romans 3:23) are “justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).
  • This means that all who have sinned (which is everyone) have also been justified, not by their own merit, but as a free gift of God’s grace through Christ’s redemption.

The Universality of Justification

  • The “all” who have sinned are the same “all” who have been justified. There is a universality to both the problem of sin and the solution of justification.
  • Romans 5:18  states that just as condemnation came to all through one man’s transgression (Adam), so also justification of life has come to all through one act of righteousness (Christ).
  • The condemnation referred to here is not eternal punishment, but the state of living in lost identity apart from God, and the consequences that brings. 

Jesus’ Authority over All Mankind

  • According to John 17:2, Jesus is given authority over all mankind, so that he may give eternal life to all whom the Father has given him.

Eternal Life for All Mankind

  • In John 17:2-3, Jesus states that eternal life is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom God has sent.
  • God has given Jesus authority over all mankind: the same “all” who were condemned in their lost identity and the same “all” who would be made righteous and justified.
  • Some may try to separate the “all” to whom Jesus has authority over, and the “all” to whom he gives eternal life. That is illogical. The same “all” applies to both – Jesus has authority over all mankind, and he will give eternal life to all whom the Father has given him.

The Supremacy of Christ

  • Colossians 1:15-20 speaks of the supremacy of Christ, and that all things were created through him and for him.
  • Note again the inclusive nature of the “all” – nothing is left out, as all things have been created through Christ and hold together in him.
  • And it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Christ, and through him to reconcile ‘all things’ to himself, whether on earth or in heaven.

The Universality of Reconciliation

  • Christ has reconciled all things, not just people, but everything that he created.
  • This reinforces the universal scope of Christ’s work: he has reconciled all of creation to the Father through the blood of his cross.

The Universality of Christ’s Work

  • John 1:7 – Jesus came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.
  • John 1:16 – Of Christ’s fullness, we have all received grace upon grace.
  • John 3:35 – The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands.
  • John 5:28 – A time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice.

The Reconciliation of All Things

  • In John 12:32, Jesus says that when he is lifted up on the cross, he will draw all people to himself.
  • “All” does not leave anyone out, and there are many instances of the word “all” used throughout the teachings of Jesus and the Scriptures.

The Fulfillment of the Law

  • In Matthew 5:18, Jesus states that not the smallest letter or stroke of the law will pass away until all is accomplished.
  • The “heaven and earth” referred to in this verse represent the old covenant system, which was fulfilled; and it passed away when the temple was destroyed in AD 70.

Key Takeaway

All has been accomplished through the finished work of Christ; there is nothing left to be done for the full and complete salvation not only of mankind but of all creation.

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323. The Judgment Seat of Christ

Mike Parsons –

Video summary

Some people may not fully live out their intended destiny, but encounter purification at the Judgment Seat of Christ, where that which is of lasting value is distinguished from what is not. The Lake of Fire symbolises purification rather than eternal damnation, a place of refining in God’s presence, not the end of the world or the fate of the devil and fallen angels. In context, it relates to the persecution faced by early Christians, particularly at the hands of non-believing Jews in Jerusalem.

Entering the realms of heaven involves engaging with the Father, who comforts and purifies. Regrets are addressed, tears are wiped away, and the scroll of your life is cleansed. This leads to an ongoing relationship marked by unfolding knowledge, truth and engagement as part of the cloud of witnesses.

I do not subscribe to the concept of Purgatory, but I do believe in the Judgment Seat. I have experienced it personally, engaging with my scroll under the fire of God’s scrutiny. However, there was no guilt, shame, or condemnation – only love and a process of addressing missed opportunities and wrong motives. Our sins are forgiven through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, and every accusation against us is nullified. From God’s perspective, He always sees us as innocent, justified and righteous.

When we engage with God relationally, we begin to understand our true identity and undergo transformation through the renewal of our minds. I encourage you to spend time with the Father, seeking to discover the truth about Him and yourself. This understanding frees us from negative thoughts about our imperfections: perfection, to God, is simply being who He made us to be. It’s not about striving or achieving but about resting in our identity as His children.

Unconditional love and forgiveness are in God’s nature, freely given without the need for works or religious practices. As children of God, we already enjoy His love; and our Dad delights in us. Drawing nearer to God’s heart unveils the depth of His boundless love, liberating us from guilt and performance-driven mindsets. This freedom allows us to rest in our identity and embrace life fully.

Jesus promised complete joy, and left us His transcendent peace. He loves us without conditions, empowering us to love Him and others in return. The key is to allow Him to shower His love upon you, revealing it in ever-deeper ways, leading you into true freedom. The truth that you know will set you free: not mere intellectual knowledge but personal experience. Encountering the Truth embodied in Jesus renews our minds, enabling us to embrace our true selves, live abundantly, and flourish in every aspect of our being.

Key Takeaway

Perfection, from God’s perspective, is simply being who He made us to be.

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320. The Signs of Jesus’ Coming

When you look at the beginning of Matthew 24, the chapter’s context is the question posed by the disciples to Jesus. They asked when these three things would happen: the destruction of the temple, the sign of His ‘coming’ (parousia = presence), and the end of the age (not the end of the world, but rather the end of the Old Covenant age, as Jesus brings an end to the Old Covenant).

These ideas are interconnected, and Jesus provides various signs of His parousia in this context. The ‘generation’ was that 40-year period and the ‘elect’ refer to Jewish believers who left Jerusalem, as Jesus had warned them. Leaving the earthly Jerusalem was also a symbolic act of leaving the Old Covenant and entering the New, the Heavenly Jerusalem. The ‘angels’ (angeloi = messengers) gathering the elect can be understood in the sense of human (and perhaps supernatural) messengers who had been sent out with the gospel during the period leading up to the end of the age; so ‘the elect’ are those who would be gathered during this time, the 144,000 of Revelation.

The lightning imagery can be interpreted in different ways. Firstly, it can mean that Jesus would come quickly at the end of that age, as lightning bursts suddenly. Secondly, the word lightning can also be translated as bright sunshine, which suggests that the light of the Gospel would be released during this period, as the messengers released that truth and the elect were gathered in.

All that Jesus says in this passage is perfectly consistent, but we may find the symbolism challenging to grasp fully due to our conditioning by modern teachings that associate these verses with the ‘rapture’ and the end of the world. But when Jesus talks about two in the field and one being taken, this is again a warning about the war and siege of AD 67-70 (nothing to do with a ‘rapture’), underscoring the importance of being alert and ready at that time. In the days of Noah there were those who were ready and entered the ark and those who were not ready and were lost: the same thing was true here. Of those who did not heed the warning to flee, some were ‘taken’ by the enemy army, and many were crucified and thrown into Gehenna during that period of the Siege of Jerusalem leading up to AD70.

Jesus’ parables have also been misinterpreted by the ‘rapture’ teaching. They are not analogies to be dissected for every detail, but rather stories used to convey a point. Terms like “outer darkness” and “weeping and gnashing of teeth” symbolise being outside the covenant and expressing anger towards the gospel: those who reject the light of the New Covenant dwell in darkness and respond with hostility.

Certain parables refer to the anticipation of Jesus’ first coming after a period of silence in prophecy. During this time, some were aware of the signs and awaited the Messiah, while others remained unaware or entrenched in a flawed religious system. When He did come they rejected Him, but then had a whole generation in which the light had gone forth, the messengers had gone out and the good news was being proclaimed. Yet still many rejected the good news and followed their old religious system rather than entering into what Jesus came to offer.

I can direct you to a whole blog post we wrote several years ago on the subject of the sheep and goats. In that parable Jesus was talking about nations, not individuals; and specifically about the treatment of the elect, the believing Jews, by their ‘brothers’ (the unbelieving Jews) during this time of covenant transition.

In reality, I believe it’s more important to seek the Father’s heart on these matters rather than attempting to dissect every scripture from a modern-day perspective. Understanding the nuances of Old Covenant language can be challenging, and without that context, passages may seem obscure.

Jesus cautioned his followers to flee Jerusalem when they witnessed certain signs, without even retrieving their coats. Historical records, such as the writings of Josephus, corroborate that Christians heeded this warning and fled to safety in the hills of Pella. While the entire region was impacted by the siege, those who followed Jesus’ advice were spared (‘saved’). The phrase ‘cut short for the sake of the elect’ indicates that even the survivors would be at risk if the tribulation continued. Ultimately, it did come to an end, signifying the conclusion of that age and its accompanying trials. We are not anticipating tribulation of this kind anymore!

Key takeaways

The signs of Jesus’ coming were for the first century believers, regarding an event in their future but in our past.

It is important always to seek the Father’s heart, rather than attempting to dissect every scripture from a modern-day perspective.

Eschatology of the Restoration of All Things

In the video Mike refers to this, his third book, which goes into a great deal of detail about eschatology and the background to the ‘rapture’ teaching.
Order the paperback from your favourite bookseller or get the ebook on our website.

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318. Not the End of the World

Mike Parsons – 

Understanding Realised Eschatology

Realised eschatology, for me, is also heading for an understanding of Christian universalism. The same scriptures Jesus referred to concerning hell (Gehenna) are in the same passage as those that speak of the end of the age – not the end of the world, but the conclusion of their Old Covenant age. People faced being cast into Gehenna if they remained in Jerusalem when the Roman armies invaded. They would be crucified, and a few hundred thousand were thrown into the literal Gehenna.

This is the concept of hell, as commonly understood in English. Of course, Christian Universalists would say hell is a different thing, and some deny its existence altogether. Personally, I see it as a place where those who haven’t come to know Jesus in life still have the opportunity to choose him after death – death is not the end of choice. Rather than a realm of punishment and torment, I see it as the fire of God’s loving presence which purifies and refines.

The scriptures that mention Gehenna portray it as a consequence of staying entrenched in the old covenant ways, not some future judgment scenario. It was a warning of a physical manifestation of death. Jesus warned his followers to flee Jerusalem when they saw certain signs: they understood this and ran to the hills, to find safety in Pella. By heeding his words, they were physically saved from the destruction that befell Jerusalem.

Signs

All that being said, I believe God introduces concepts like this to steer the church back to first principles, into a deeper relationship in which we experience Him intimately, face to face. Once we do, we no longer need the signs which pointed us towards this reality.

Experiential connection

In my preaching of the gospel, I aim to introduce people to Jesus in a way that facilitates a tangible, experiential connection with the Father. It is only  through this intimate relationship that someone can truly understand and experience God’s unconditional love, find spiritual healing and wholeness, and embrace their identity and inheritance as a child of God. I believe God is gradually weaning us off an over-reliance on healings and miracles, so we can live in mystical experience with Him. This shift is not about abandoning miraculous manifestations altogether but that we use them for the purpose of outworking what God is doing in the earth.

We have the ability to govern and rule, to establish the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. This process begins first within our own lives, then thorough our lives, and ultimately leads to the creation of places on earth which do not operate under the government of earth but under the government of heaven. There will be no sickness there, no disease, no lack, no poverty: nothing contradictory to the fullness of life as children of God.

Cultivating relationship

In the Mystic movement, there is a shift away from seeking outward manifestations like healings towards cultivating a deeper relationship with God in which health and wholeness naturally flow, and the focus is no longer on individuals performing healing. God is our healer.

Early Christians underwent a profound shift in their understanding of God, moving moved away from viewing Him through the lens of an outdated religious and political system. Instead, Jesus revealed God as love incarnate, challenging their preconceptions and inviting them into a relational encounter with the Father. He came to undo their whole understanding of God from an Old Covenant mentality. This shift from a legalistic mindset to one grounded in relationship and experience to which Jesus is the door,  empowered them to operate in sonship, seated in heavenly places, and to manifest the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

The God that we know

When we are introducing the reality of who God is, we do not need to do so through miraculous healing, but through introducing the God that we know. They can experience the God that they will then know, and then they can enter into that life themselves. Now I am not saying there are not amazing things. I have done all sorts of transrelocation, time miracles and other things; but in the purposes of outworking my relationship with God, not to prove who God is or to demonstrate to others how good God is. I can help them experience God themselves, so they are not dependent on me testifying by doing anything like that.

Key takeaway

Preaching the gospel is about leading people to encounter the God we know, so that they can embark on their own journey of discovering His love and life-changing power for themselves.

Want to learn more about ‘happy’ or realised eschatology? Get Mike’s book The Eschatology of the Restoration of All Things from your favourite bookseller, or download the ebook from our website at https://eg.freedomarc.org/course/eschatology-ebook

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Thank you!
Note: This donation is securely handled through PayPal but you do not need to have a PayPal account yourself to make a one-time donation.
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296. A New Perspective on the Millennium (2)

Mike Parsons

The concept of a future millennial time period was not embraced by the early church fathers; and of those who authored the Bible, only John explicitly mentions it. The discussion around a literal Millennium gained traction only after the compilation of the biblical canon, when the Book of Revelation became a part of it. The Temple was still standing when the Book of Revelation was likely written around AD 66. Subsequently, as prophesied by Jesus in Matthew 24, it was destroyed by the Roman armies that surrounded Jerusalem.

I personally do not adhere to a belief in a literal Millennial period. The ‘second coming’ events described in the scriptures seem to point to a specific historical context rather than a distant future. We are currently in the period of the restoration of all things, during which the kingdom of God is filling the Earth. This perspective reassures us for the future; and eschatology, the study of the end times, becomes somewhat of an oxymoron. In reality, there is no end to the increase of God’s government and peace.

In my book, The Eschatology of the Restoration of All Things, I go into this topic in detail, tracing the roots of teachings like the rapture and millennial concepts back to dispensationalism, which also produced Zionism. The separation of God’s people into a heavenly and an earthly people, along with associated doctrines, has historically induced fear and foreboding, and is at the root of present strife in the middle east. However, I encourage you to seek God for yourself, maintaining an open heart and engaging in a personal exploration of these matters. While everyone is entitled to their views and opinions, I hold strong convictions based on what God has shown me, which reshaped my understanding of future events.

From a restoration perspective, I now see a clearer picture of God’s plan to restore all things, with us, the sons of God, actively participating in the process. This viewpoint challenges notions like the rapture as a rescue mentality: Jesus is already with us, enabling us to engage in the restoration of all things. The kingdom of God is not confined to the Earth but expanding into the cosmos, presenting an exciting prospect for the future which some are entering into even today.

Key takeaway

Focus on the present, not the future. Jesus is already with us, enabling us to engage in the restoration of all things.

Recent posts from Freedom ARC

295. A New Perspective on the Millennium (1)
294. To celebrate or not to celebrate?
293. Expanding God’s Government of Peace
292. Is God Shocking People into Embracing Love?
291. Can Yoga be ‘Christian’?
290. Discovering the Reality of Salvation

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Our Patreon patrons give a small amount each month and can join us for our monthly group Zooms, get exclusive or early access to Mike’s teaching and enjoy further patron-only benefits. Or you can use the blue button to support our work with a one-time gift*.
Thank you!Note: This donation is securely handled through PayPal but you do not need to have a PayPal account yourself to make a one-time donation.
For repeating donations, if you do not have (or want) a PayPal account please support us through Patreon instead.