Freeper Research Project: Survey of Freeper views of “How it all Ends”

Various | March 7, 2006 | Alamo-Girl

[Alamo-Girl]

The last Freeper Research Project on Freeper personality types is currently being compiled and will be posted soon.

Meanwhile, we are embarking on a new survey to determine what Freepers believe is the end of all that there is.:

Eschatology is the study of the end of history according to Christian theology.

Teleology is the study of final causes, the end results.

Freepers’ answers will no doubt be strongly related to personal religious beliefs - but this is not a religion thread!

If you wish to argue for or against any particular belief system please take it up somewhere on the Religion Forum.

Here we are simply doing a survey of Freeper views on the subject.

Please consider the following list of beliefs and end time scenarios and then post which of them would apply to you, or if you believe something else - then please give a short description of what you believe.

If you spot an error in my definitions, please let me know.

Thank you so much for your participation in this survey!!!

Christianity (paraphrased from this webpage)

Historical Premillennialism: The Antichrist appears on earth before the seven year Tribulation begins. Rapture follows tribulation. Christ and his Church return to earth to rule for a Millennium. The forces of evil are conquered. The faithful live during the thousand years in Jerusalem, while occupying spiritual bodies. After the millennium, all people are judged and the faithful spend eternity on a new earth (not in heaven).

Dispensational Premillennialism: (a.k.a. Dispensationalism) The Tribulation precedes the second coming of Christ, and the subsequent establishment of the millennial kingdom -- a thousand-year golden age on Earth under the authority of Christ. Afterwards, in a brief, final battle, Satan is permanently conquered. The Final Judgment follows the millennium.

Pre-Tribulation Rapture: (or "pre-trib") The Rapture happens just before the Tribulation, so that believers will not have to experience any of its disruption and pain.

Post-tribulation Rapture: (or "post-trib") The faithful experience the full horrors of the entire Tribulation and are raptured only at the end of the 7 years.

Mid-Tribulation Rapture: (or "mid-trib") The Rapture happens 42 months into the Tribulation. Up to that time, the Antichrist brings peace to the world. After 42 months, events take a sudden turn for the worse.

Pre-wrath Rapture: That the church must experience most of the Tribulation, and then be raptured towards the end of the Tribulation period.

Partial Rapture: The faithful born-again believers are raptured just before the Tribulation. Newly born again believers are raptured during or at the end of the Tribulation.

Amillennialism: (Also known as Nonmillennialism). The Kingdom of God is present in the world today through the presence of the heavenly reign of Christ, the Bible, the Holy Spirit and Christianity. Both good and evil will continue in the world until the current Church Age ends suddenly as Christ returns to the sky above the earth. The Rapture follows. The Redeemed are transported to heaven where they will adopt spiritual bodies. The majority of humanity will be sent to Hell at this time for eternal punishment. The world will be abandoned. History is no more.

Amillennialism, Roman Catholic: These anticipate Jesus coming to Earth and gathering the Church together. But they generally do not use the term "rapture."

Postmillennialism: (Also known as "Christian Reconstruction", "Kingdom Now Theology" and "Dominion Theology.") These believe “that the kingdom of God is now being extended in the world through the preaching of the gospel and the saving work of the Holy Spirit, that the world eventually is to be Christianized, and that the return of Christ will occur at the close of a long period of righteousness and peace, commonly called the millennium.”

Preterism is a belief that the events prophesized in the New Testament have already happened. The great war of Armageddon in the book of Revelation occurred in the late 60's and early 70's CE when the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, many Jews were killed and the rest were driven from Palestine. When Jesus talked about the end of the world, he did not mean that the physical world would be no more.

No Millennialism: These interpret the contents of the books of Daniel and Revelation as having no prophetic information for our future.

Judaism - The scattered Jewish exiles will be gathered to the geographic Israel, her enemies will be defeated, the third temple built, sacrifices resumed, the dead resurrected. The Jewish Messiah will become the King of Israel and divide Israel into its original tribes and defend it in a great war. God will intervene and banish all evil. After the 6,000^th year of the Jewish calendar the seventh millennium will be holy, peaceful, tranquil. (Olam Haba) and all people will know God.

Islam - On a day of reckoning, God will resurrect and judge the dead, send the righteous to heaven and the evil to hell. This will be preceded by a Muhammed-like holy warrior, the Mahdi (twelfth imam) – who defends Islam from the antiChrist, beasts, etc.

Buddhism - Buddha’s teachings will disappear and all will fall into ruin to be replaced by Maitreya and his teachings.

Hinduism All will fall into ruin followed by the appearance of an avatar (Kalki Avatar)

Atheism:

Big Crunch The universe expands by strictly naturalistic means and then collapses.

Cyclic The universe expands by strictly naturalistic means, collapses, and then expands again etc.

Endless Expansion The universe never quits expanding but reaches maximum entropy killing everything anyway

[mitch5501]

what he said

[TomSmedley]

hello, refugee from crosswalk!

Count me as post-mil, with orthodox Christian preterism -- the resurrection of the body is still part of the creed, the faith which we must keep "wholly and entire."

[carlr]

Pre-trib rapture.

[Esther Ruth]

Good morning.
Pre Trib for me.

[lonestar]

This was going to be the day I contemplated "near death experiences."

Pre

[colorcountry]

I haven't come to a conclusion about this subject, but I probably lean toward Dispensationalism....

I do believe that most people will not realize what is taking place, that the world is in it's death throes. Just like when Christ came, few realized the promised Messiah had arrived.

[beyond the sea]

It will all end when you meet Chuck Norris.

LOL.

****

It will end when Seattle Seahawk fans stop crying.

It will end when Barbra Streisand learns how to spell. One or the other.

[fromscratchmom]

"Amillennialism: (Also known as Nonmillennialism). The Kingdom of God is present in the world today through the presence of the heavenly reign of Christ, the Bible, the Holy Spirit and Christianity."---This acurately reflects my beliefs and---"Both good and evil will continue in the world until the current Church Age ends suddenly as Christ returns to the sky above the earth. The Rapture follows. The Redeemed are transported to heaven where they will adopt spiritual bodies. The majority of humanity will be sent to Hell at this time for eternal punishment. The world will be abandoned. History is no more."---comes close enough. I don't feel the need to point out any of my differences with this, except with the word 'majority'. I don't know how many people will be saved and how many will be lost. I guess some biblical passages do point to "few" being saved. And certainly my experience on this earth leads me to be more and more pessimistic about it year by year. It often looks like there is more evil on this earth than I can comprehend.

[Pietro]

Put me down for "Dispensational Premillennialism"

I think when the bill comes due there will be heavy retribution all around. But for God's mercy not one would survive.

I think our understanding of history will be wiped clean and a new age, in the beginning a Golden Age will follow. And then entropy again sets in.

BTW, thanks for asking.

[Toby06]

The party is over when we run out of beer.

[PigRigger]

Pretty much agree with your thinking..

From what I have read, Christ will return when his Church is about to be extinguished from this plane of existance...When I say Church, I mean those who believe in his teachings as they were intended....I do believe there will be those who call themselves Christians during the end of times...but they will practice something much different than what is found in scripture.

You can see that starting to happen today; the many Christian denominations are morphing into secular humanism......The pressure being exerted on the Catholic Church to change and to adopt current social beliefs is overwhelming. I believe it is only a matter of time before they do.

If we could see into the future, I believe we would not recognize Christian Theology (when compared to what is generally accepted today).

Thus, I don't see anyone escaping the tribulation. The horrors that will coincide with the rise of false prophets, and eventually the anti-christ, will be experienced by all. Christians (not those evolving into the new church) will be persecuted and ostrozied...it is will be bleak.

The anti-christ will be loved and adored by the majority of those in this world, he will claim to be the head of the newly evolved Christian church, he will calim to be the Christ the Messiah.

You are correct, most will not recognize what is happening until it is to late. But the signs will be there; especially the natural horrors and numerous wars that will occur....ultimately leading to the anti-christ's rein of false peace.

Christ will return, but only when the last of His faithful are about to be sacrificed; only when satan believes he is about to win the final battle - the capturing of all humanity.

Just one man's opinion...for what it is worth....

[freema]

Haven't seen mine yet and no time to put my thoughts into words bookmark.

[Uri’el-2012]

Teleology is the study of final causes, the end results.

I like the definition in the OED:

teleology

/telliollji, teel-/

• noun (pl. teleologies)
1 Philosophy the doctrine that the existence of phenomena may be explained with reference to the purpose they serve.
2 Theology the doctrine that there is evidence of design and purpose in the natural world.

— DERIVATIVES teleologic adjective teleological adjective.

— ORIGIN from Greek telos ‘end’ + logos ‘account, reason’.

b'shem Y'shua

[SoothingDave]

No one said "not with a bang, but with a whimper" yet?

I am Catholic, so mark me down for that brand of amillennialism. (Though that be a misnomer. There is a Millennium and we are in it now.)

Now, an interesting quote from one of my daughter's favorite movies, "The Last Unicorn." Take it away, Schmendrick, the magician:

There are no happy endings, because nothing ends.

SD

[Bear_Slayer]

bookmark for later reading.

[American in Israel]

Log me in for Pre-Wrath Rapture. I figure we are in the last stages of the second seal and are about to pop on the third. (Rev 6)

[Bear_Slayer]

I don't see HOW or WHY we're so special during this generation to be spared suffering for Christ.

The church should always expect suffering, but the tribulation belongs to the world and is not suffering to produce faith in Christ's, but wrath, against the world who are completely antagonistic to Christ and His own.

The church is not destined for wrath

[KYGrandma]

Me, too. I will be skipping all the trials and tribulations.

[finnman69]

[blue-duncan]

I'm with you Partial Rapture Dispensationalist, however I lean more to Ladd's Kingdom Theology ( Historic Premillennialism) than strict Dispensationalism. That should demonstrate the chaos in all systems.