Re: Jesus' 'Jacked Up Idea' of What The Bible Says

Yep, that's just about the long & short of it, and your pops was right to question whether they had their head screwed on aright to believe such a crass notion. Then again, what choice do they have if they are to consistently apply their wooden literalism to the prophetic scriptures? They are caught between the horns of a dilemma that admits of no resolution unless you accept that Ezekiel is depicting a spiritual scene, as Carver correctly observes. But as you say, to do that is to sell your pass to the earthly millennial 'paradise'.

I believe Carver's arguments are unanswerable, and as I said, it was specifically this aspect of chiliasm that proved a thorn in my flesh until I was eventually forced to jettison the entire edifice. Shedding it felt like being relieved of a burden that consisted of a mass of contradictions and internal inconsistecies, quite apart from its unabashed opposition to basic Gospel principles. I'm personally glad to be shot of it.