You have a beautiful view of religion. Your answers about god always show 'it' as being forgiving, understanding and accepting. You're view of god is quite lovely. But you're unique amongst the believers. Surely you know that?
Well I guess I know where I'll be for the next rather than the 10 minutes it would take to reply to just your post.
I hope I don't stack the deck to make it appear that is His only side. What it does point out is that God puts many people under punishment for a set period of time and then the sins that got them there are forgiven and the relationship with God is restored and then a much longer period of time begins. Sin entered in Adam's time and the price of sin is you go to the grave (before you are 120 years old). The only exceptions are the 12 tribes from Re:7 and the Gentiles counted as being 'in Church in Re:11. Each group could number about 2B people (for example) but the ones from those two groups that survive to see the return in person is quite small compared to the number that will be retrieved from death to become witnesses to events that happen at the end of the 1,000 years as that is when the serpent from Ge:3 is given his bruise to the head and the 'sons of God' from Ge:6 are sent to the fiery lake.
That is the group that is 'sealed' as soon as that becomes possible and the people that missed out on that experience the gathering from the grave when the Great White Throne happens. (since fire from heaven is the worst wrath in the Bible the ones in the grave miss out on having to face that as a 'test of some people that are equal to angels in strength and knowledge but are found to be sinless at the time 1/3 of all angels are going to their version of 'death', eternity without God to protect them, it would be equal to Adam and Eve leaving the garden and living with thorny plants (thirst and hunger are things that angels have never experienced as they are immortals, same as people are who are the witnesses at the end of the 1,000 year reign.
My view should be available to anybody who is willing to read (study) the book. If a new reader wants to get a summation of what the book is about I would highly recommend reading just Ge:1-3 and Re:20-22 with the view that the text is meant for the readers that will see those event change from prophetic to realistic. (and the great changes that come with 'that day') .
Yes I know that. If more people read the chapters mentioned and discussed it the odds are we would all agree about what the texts would mean to us rather than what it meant to people such as Noah. That would make a topic that doesn't take decades to cover. That amount of time is needed to cover the rest of the book and how Ge:3:15 specifically goes from prophecy to reality and since the cross was the bruise to the heel and Jesus was a living person the book is reality based and we have yet to seem all the 'bad' prophecies unfold. There are 3 1/2 years of tribulation before salvation is assured. Prayers should be able to keep you alive through that period of time as live witnesses have better stories than dead ones. The few in numbers is a reference to the 144,000 and the 3 1/2 years they are 'sealed from coming to harm. (Gentiles can do this and be counted)
De:4:27-31:
And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations,
and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen,
whither the LORD shall lead you.
And there ye shall serve gods,
the work of men's hands,
wood and stone,
which neither see,
nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God,
thou shalt find him,
if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
When thou art in tribulation,
and all these things are come upon thee,
even in the latter days,
if thou turn to the LORD thy God,
and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
(For the LORD thy God is a merciful God
he will not forsake thee,
neither destroy thee,
nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
How would Ge:1 go if our version of 'evolution' was applied and the earth was about 4B years old? (the start and end of this earth would be the 'topic')
Is this sarcasm or have you missed his lust for genocide?
My what??
Not sarcasm. I read him differently then you do. I don't believe it's a lust for genocide so much as rebuttals to the other comments. We all 'discuss' things in a different style.
And whenever he's talked about religion, he's always mentioned how everyone gets into heaven, how nobody is punished in hell, everyone who wants it is forgiven. It's a lovely view.
Reading all the applicable texts are the way that view is constructed, my thinking should not be unique other than I may have connected a few things before somebody else did. Considering there is a lot of wrath involved it help to have a picture how it ends so in this case 'peeing ahead' is definitely recommended.
Ge:2 could be a prophecy about the new earth that starts at the end of Re:22 so that is an aspect that can be explored as being intentionally put in there just for that reason. (there are other possibilities as well)
