lady4theallmighty said:
Can someone explain the different views of the Origin of Life and End Times? I was going to "google" them, but thought I would seek some fellowship and ask all of your idea's about them.
Thank you and have a very blessed weekend!
No problem, I'll try my best. But be advised that I am no expert, being a relatively new Christian myself (coming up on three years soon). Now regarding the origin of life view, here are the ones that I'm familiar with.
Young Earth Creationism: This is the belief that the earth was created as told in the Bible, and that the universe is 5,700 years old. The number 5,700 is based on adding up the geneologies in the book of Genesis and the books of the Chronicles.
Old Earth Creationism: This view also supposes that the Biblical creation account is literally true, however it accepts the age of the earth as 4.2 billion years old (as computed by scientists). This view assumes that the six days of creation are not six 24-hour days, but refer to an unspecified period of time. It also assumes that the geneologies in Genesis and the Chronicles are not complete. Actually, this is not so far-fetched, since we know that the geneologies of the Lord Jesus in Matthew and Luke are abridged. This is the view that I hold to.
Gap Theory: This is almost the same as young earth creationism, except it supposes that there is a "gap" of unspecified time between Genesis 1:2 and 1:3. Thus, gap theorists believe that the earth was originally cursed by Satan, and then cleansed by God. It is a means of explaining why science tells us that the earth is older than 5,700 years.
Theistic Evolution: This is just what it sounds like. Theistic evolutionists believe in the scientifically determined age of the earth, and in biological evolution. But they maintain that God guided the process of evolution. They hold that the creation account of the Prophet Moses is a figurative and spiritual account which is meant to explain original sin, the purpose for our creation, and the need for our redemption by Christ. Some theistic evolutionists believe that humans evolved from lower organisms. Other theistic evolutionists (such as Roman Catholics) believe that although evolution can explain the creation of both humans and other life, at
some point God took aside Adam and imbuded him with a soul.
And now for the end time views.
There are three views on a certain event called the millenium.
Premillenialism: In the book of Revelation, it says that after Christ returns to judge the earth, there will be a thousand year period (or millennium) for which Satan is bound, and during which the nations will live in peace, under Jesus Christ who rules as the King of Jerusalem, with the church as his queen. Premillennialism states that this is a literal reign. According to premillennialism, the Second Advent of Christ before the millennium in order to physically rule the earth. I hold to this belief. Now you might ask, how could Christ
not return before the millennium, if he is to be the King of Jerusalem during the millennium? That leads into the next theory.
Postmillennialism: This is the theory that the millennium as described in Revelation is figurative for a time during which the Gospel will have gone forth to all the nations, and during which the church will live in great peace. The Bible describes Christ's judgment of the earth before the millennium, so postmillennialists understand this to be figurative for a time during which God will wipe out evil in the earth by means of his servants in the church. Postmillennialists believe that the Second Advent of Christ will happen
after the millennium.
Amillennialism: This is the belief that there is no literal 1,000 years of peace for the church, but that the judgment of the world by Christ, and the millennium are figurative for Christ's Second Advent.
There are also three views on an event called the rapture.
Pretribulation Rapture: In the Bible it says that at some unspecified time, Jesus Christ will descend and raise the church to himself. It also says that there will be a period of seven years in the end-times during which the anti-Christ will reign (the "Tribulation"). Pretribulationism states that Jesus Christ will rapture the church before the Tribulation, so that the church will not have to suffer through this.
Posttribulation Rapture: This is the belief that Christians will have to suffer through the Tribulation, and that Christ will rapture the church after the end of the seven years. This is the view that I hold to.
Midtribulation Rapture: The belief that the rapture will occur sometime during the tribulation.
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Well, this is my best summary of the various origin and end-time theories. If anyone more knowledgable than me notices a mistake, please feel free to correct it. I hope I was of some help.
