Re: The Early Christians: Creed, Confession and Scripture

Isaiah spoke clearly about this period of a thousand years:

There shall be a new heaven and a new earth. Former things shall not be 
remembered or come into mind. But gladness and joy shall be found on 
earth, and it is I who create it all. Behold, I make Jerusalem a joy and 
my people a gladness. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and be glad in my 
people. No more shall there be heard the voice of weeping or the cry of 
lamentation. No more shall anyone die before his time, only a few days 
old, nor shall the old man pass away without completing his time, for the 
youth shall live to a hundred years. And if he is a sinner he will die 
only at the age of a hundred and then be accursed.

They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and 
themselves eat the fruit of them. No more shall others inhabit what they 
build, nor shall others eat what they plant. For as the days of the tree 
of life shall be the days of my people. The fruits of their labor shall 
endure. My chosen ones shall not labor in vain. They shall not bring 
forth children for destruction, for they shall be a righteous generation 
blessed by the Lord. Their offspring shall stay with them. For before 
they call I will hear them; while they are still speaking, I will say, 
"What is it?" In those times the wolf and the lamb shall feed together, 
the lion shall eat hay like the ox, and the serpent shall eat dust like 
bread. There shall be no harm or destruction done on my holy mountain, 
says the Lord.

"Now," I explained, "If these words say, ‘Like the days of the tree shall 
be the days of my people; the fruits of their work shall endure,’ 
according to our belief they mysteriously point to the period of one 
thousand years. When Adam was told that he would die on the day he ate of 
the tree, Adam as we know had not completed a thousand years. We also are 
firmly convinced that the words ‘a day of the Lord is like a thousand 
years’ apply to our teaching. Moreover, a certain man called John, who 
was amongst us and belonged to the apostles of Christ, prophesied in a 
revelation that those who believe in our Christ shall dwell in Jerusalem 
for a thousand years, and that afterwards there will be, for all men 
without exception, universal and so-called eternal resurrection and 
universal, so-called eternal judgment. Our Lord himself said the same 
with the words, ‘They shall neither marry nor be given in marriage, but 
they shall be equal to the angels. Children of God through the 
resurrection shall they be.’"

Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 81.

Megan R. wrote:

> You are very zealous to be on sure ground when you refer to the 
> Scriptures. But tell me, do you really maintain that our city of 
> Jerusalem shall be built up again, and do you really expect that your 
> people will gather there joyfully with Christ, together with the 
> patriarchs, the prophets, and the men of our nation, and those who
> became proselytes before your Christ came?
> 
> Trypho, I am not so mean as to say one thing and think another. I have
> already pointed out to you that many more share this conviction with
> me. We are quite certain that the future will be like this...
> 
> I am not on the side of men or human teachings, but of God and his
> truth. If you have ever met any who call themselves Christians but do
> not share this conviction and even make bold to blaspheme the God of
> Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and moreover assert
> that there is no resurrection from the dead, saving that after death
> their souls will be taken up to heaven instead, do not take such
> persons for Christians... But I, and every other Christian who has the
> right beliefs in all things, know that there is a resurrection of the
> flesh, followed by a thousand years in the rebuilt, beautified, and
> enlarged city of Jerusalem, as the prophets Ezekiel, Isaiah, and the
> others announced.     
> 
> Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 80.1, 2, 4, 5.
> 
> Joe Hine wrote:
> 
>> Papias maintained that after the resurrection of the dead there will
>> be a period of a thousand years when Christ’s kingdom will be
>> established on this earth in physical form.
>> 
>> He is said to have maintained the mishna [Jewish teaching] of a
>> millennium. 
>> 
>> Papias in Eusebius III.39.11; Jerome, On Illustrious Men 18.
>>