THE FUTURE

[onewithhim]

Haven't we all, at one time or another, wondered what the future will be like? Experts of men have had a spotty reputation as most of their predictions have proved untrue.

What does the Bible tell us? "The God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed....It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever." (Daniel 2:44, Revised Standard Version)

Is this good news? Of course, when we realize what God's Kingdom is. It is a real government that will replace all of the existing governments on the earth and stand forever. Stability and order will be brought to people on the earth. What will life be like under this government?

NO MORE WAR (Psalm 46:9)
NO MORE SICKNESS (Isaiah 33:24)
NO MORE FOOD SHORTAGE (Psalm 72:16)
NO MORE PAIN, SORROW AND DEATH (Revelation 21:4)

These are just some of the promises made in the Bible about God's Kingdom, and there are more. God has promised all these wonderful things for the future. All righteously inclined people can avail themselves of these promises. Does this sound good to you?

[onewithhim]

[Replying to myth-one.com in post #30]

God was in the process of making the earth habitable for animals and humans when at first it was cold and dark. That was just the beginning of his creation of the earth and its occupants.

[myth-one.com]

[Replying to myth-one.com in post #30]

God was in the process of making the earth habitable for animals and humans when at first it was cold and dark. That was just the beginning of his creation of the earth and its occupants.

Did you reach that conclusion from the first two verses of Genesis?

Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

If so, how did you come to that conclusion?

[myth-one.com]

[Replying to myth-one.com in post #30]

God was in the process of making the earth habitable for animals and humans when at first it was cold and dark.

Why would God have made it cold and dark at the first??

[onewithhim]

[Replying to myth-one.com in post #30]

God was in the process of making the earth habitable for animals and humans when at first it was cold and dark. That was just the beginning of his creation of the earth and its occupants.

Did you reach that conclusion from the first two verses of Genesis?

Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

If so, how did you come to that conclusion?

It starts out saying the earth was created, but it doesn't say he was finished at that point. When he first started the earth was watery, cold and dark. Then he went on to create all the things that would make the earth beautiful.

[JehovahsWitness]

It starts out saying the earth was created, but it doesn't say he was finished at that point. When he first started the earth was watery, cold and dark. Then he went on to create all the things that would make the earth beautiful.

That is correct ; I agree completely. Accurate knowledge cannot be obtained from taking verses in isolation. Consider Jesus when he taught , how he quoted from numerous bible verses, scattered throughout Hebrew scripture and tied them together to shed light on God's way of thinking.

That Jehovah is not adverse to achieving his eventual aims progressively , starting with an unfinished product and over time progressively manipulating elements until they eventually reflect his desired aim, is a method demonstrated throughout scripture (compare Isaiah 60:16, 17). Even an examination of the book of Genesis supports this viewpoint.

Take for example Genesis 2 verse 8 which states "Jehovah God planted a garden in Eden" ; this is interesting because it doesn't say God created a garden planet for Adam but rather that he selected a part of the earth and proceeded to plant trees and cultivated vegetation that would make life for Adam comfortably and agreeable. This implies that prior to this action, there was at the very least soil, a water source and perhaps wild growing plants and vegetation. Since God and proclaimed the third creative day (which entailed the creation of plants and vegetation) "good", any wild plants and trees in the area were NOT as a result of Satanic intervention. So the uncultivated or bare ground that existed PRIOR to the planting of the Edenic garden was deliberately left so by Almighty God until he chose to plant specific trees and vegetation for Adam.

So what can de learn from the above? That Jehovah (YHWH) sometimes leaves something unfinished until he chooses to change/complete a project according to his good pleasure. That something dark might be dark because he has chosen a moment in the future to make it light (compare Genesis 1:3). That something void, lifeless or deserted, might be that way because the Almighty hasn't yet "planted", cultivate or even created anyone to inhabit that place.

In short, taking a SINGLE verse, such as Genesis chapter one verse 2, without any knowledge of the "modus operandi" je. , the way /methods or habits of working of the God of the bible, might allow for the fabrication of an outlandish theology of an extra-biblical "takeover", unrevealed to the inspired writers. But the simple truth of the matter is that, scripturally, Jehovah God takes pleasure in a progressive, step-by-step, creative process, fully evident in the 6 creative "days. And this necessitates identifiable stages that do not fully reflect the finished product.

We see the beauty of this all around us. Of course God could have made it possible for a woman to pop a fully developed baby out a day after inmpregnation. But evidently He knew that there is a beauty for a woman to feel a life growing inside her. There is beauty in the bond both parents develop with their unborn child over time. But ... this would necessitate a human baby at some stage having stubs for arms, a massive head and basically resembling a big-eyed tadpole. That does not mean his work was "messed with", only that the child is a work in progress not yet ready to live outside its mother's body (compare Psalm 139:16)

There is beauty in time because God created it and to impose a theology that disallows the very concept of God ordained progressive development of our earthly home is both illogical, unscriptural and ungodly.



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EVOLUTION, THE BIBLE & SCIENCE and ...THE 7 CREATIVE DAYS OF GENESIS

[2ndpillar2]

Haven't we all, at one time or another, wondered what the future will be like? Experts of men have had a spotty reputation as most of their predictions have proved untrue.

What does the Bible tell us? "The God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed....It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever." (Daniel 2:44, Revised Standard Version)

Is this good news? Of course, when we realize what God's Kingdom is. It is a real government that will replace all of the existing governments on the earth and stand forever. Stability and order will be brought to people on the earth. What will life be like under this government?

NO MORE WAR (Psalm 46:9)
NO MORE SICKNESS (Isaiah 33:24)
NO MORE FOOD SHORTAGE (Psalm 72:16)
NO MORE PAIN, SORROW AND DEATH (Revelation 21:4)

These are just some of the promises made in the Bible about God's Kingdom, and there are more. God has promised all these wonderful things for the future. All righteously inclined people can avail themselves of these promises. Does this sound good to you?

You are kind of quoting out of text. The millennium will only last 1000 years, at which time there will be another war (Rev 20:7-10). There apparently will be sick during the millennium because they will go to "river of life" to eat the "leaves of the tree" for healing (Rev 22:2). As for the nations (Gentiles) who survive, they will have to come to Jerusalem to worship the king, or suffer draught, which results in hunger (Zech 14:16-17). As for "death", those who are raised from the dead at the start of the millennium, they have already died once and will not have to die again. As for the rest, they will die after 100 years of age if they are not accursed (Isaiah 65:20). The blind will lead the blind, and they will both fall into the pit.

[myth-one.com]

[Replying to myth-one.com in post #30]

God was in the process of making the earth habitable for animals and humans when at first it was cold and dark. That was just the beginning of his creation of the earth and its occupants.

Did you reach that conclusion from the first two verses of Genesis?

Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

If so, how did you come to that conclusion?

It starts out saying the earth was created, but it doesn't say he was finished at that point.

It was created -- past tense. It then existed.

When he first started the earth was watery, cold and dark.

No. When He first started the earth did not exist.

If upon starting to create the earth, the earth was already watery, cold, and dark; then the earth already existed!

.

[onewithhim]

Haven't we all, at one time or another, wondered what the future will be like? Experts of men have had a spotty reputation as most of their predictions have proved untrue.

What does the Bible tell us? "The God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed....It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever." (Daniel 2:44, Revised Standard Version)

Is this good news? Of course, when we realize what God's Kingdom is. It is a real government that will replace all of the existing governments on the earth and stand forever. Stability and order will be brought to people on the earth. What will life be like under this government?

NO MORE WAR (Psalm 46:9)
NO MORE SICKNESS (Isaiah 33:24)
NO MORE FOOD SHORTAGE (Psalm 72:16)
NO MORE PAIN, SORROW AND DEATH (Revelation 21:4)

These are just some of the promises made in the Bible about God's Kingdom, and there are more. God has promised all these wonderful things for the future. All righteously inclined people can avail themselves of these promises. Does this sound good to you?

You are kind of quoting out of text. The millennium will only last 1000 years, at which time there will be another war (Rev 20:7-10). There apparently will be sick during the millennium because they will go to "river of life" to eat the "leaves of the tree" for healing (Rev 22:2). As for the nations (Gentiles) who survive, they will have to come to Jerusalem to worship the king, or suffer draught, which results in hunger (Zech 14:16-17). As for "death", those who are raised from the dead at the start of the millennium, they have already died once and will not have to die again. As for the rest, they will die after 100 years of age if they are not accursed (Isaiah 65:20). The blind will lead the blind, and they will both fall into the pit.

No, there will not be any sick people during the Millennium. They will have attained to a life of wellness at the beginning of the Millennium, shown by the reference to the "river of life." No nations will go to physical Jerusalem to worship the King, but will go to "spiritual Jerusalem" which came into being at Pentecost where the holy spirit fell on 120 in the upper room, and they went and witnessed to all the people round about. Peter spoke of this spiritual Jerusalem when he said in a letter to the Christians in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia---to the ones chosen:

"You are a 'chosen race,' a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for special possession, that you should declare abroad the excellencies of the one that called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. For you were once not a people, but are now God's people; you were those who had not been shown mercy, but are now those who have been shown mercy." (IPeter 2:9,10)

Jesus had to be in the equation for people to worship in "spiritual Jerusalem." It was mandatory that people accept Jesus. Paul wrote to the Christians in Galatia: "You are all, in fact, sons of God through your faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek...for you are all one in union with Christ Jesus. Moreover, if you belong to Christ, you are really Abraham's seed, heirs with reference to a promise." (Galatians 3:26-29)

He spoke of "the Jerusalem ABOVE," which is now the viable Jerusalem for all Christian purposes. "The Jerusalem above is free, and she is our 'mother.'" (Galatians 4:26) The physical Jerusalem was replaced by spiritual Jerusalem because Israel did not accept Christ as their Messiah and ended up having him killed. (Acts 2:36)

[myth-one.com]

It starts out saying the earth was created, but it doesn't say he was finished at that point. When he first started the earth was watery, cold and dark. Then he went on to create all the things that would make the earth beautiful.

That is correct ; I agree completely.

God created the entire heaven and earth in six days:

Exodus 20:11
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

So in the first day of the creation, you and JehovahsWitness are claiming that God created heaven completely, created the earth watery, cold and dark; then realized it was dark and created light!

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Does that sound reasonable?

[onewithhim]

It starts out saying the earth was created, but it doesn't say he was finished at that point. When he first started the earth was watery, cold and dark. Then he went on to create all the things that would make the earth beautiful.

That is correct ; I agree completely.

God created the entire heaven and earth in six days:

Exodus 20:11
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

So in the first day of the creation, you and JehovahsWitness are claiming that God created heaven completely, created the earth watery, cold and dark; then realized it was dark and created light!

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Does that sound reasonable?

It is your opinion, not proven by the Scriptures, that the earth didn't exist as cold and dark when God started His creation of it. When He started creating the earth, it was void and dark, but then He gradually made the earth a home for animals and finally humans. The verses you quote from Genesis are reasonable, and show the gradual development of the earth and its inhabitants.