A New Beginning: The Fourth Dimension and Adventist Futurism

The fourth dimension of the title is, of course, the dimension of time. Scientists will speak to you with the greatest of confidence that Time [Duration] really is an integral part and a compliment to the normal dimensions of Length, Breadth and Thickness. All four are often referred to as the Space-Time continuum. For a literary explanation regarding this enigma, please consult H.G. Wells' prescient explanation. [1] We digress not only to clear up the title, but to highlight one of the important principles of Adventist Futurism, that of time itself, especially future time. [2]

The very first article about Adventist Futurism appeared on January 17, 2007. [3] Approximately 39 articles or posts dealing in some way with the development of Adventist Futurism have appeared in the Northern Lord vs. Southern Lord [4] blog. One purpose of this new blog, Adventist Futurist, is to collect, organize and coordinate past, present and future articles regarding Adventist Futurism. Another reason for this new blog is to trace, when possible, the origins and influences of Adventist Futurism. In total there were 66 web sites or blogs that referred its readers to the Adventist Futurism Manifesto.

While there is no clear cut evidence that official Adventist media took any interest in the Manifesto there was one article published in the church's official flagship publication, Adventist Review, that cryptically alluded to Adventist Futurism in an article titled Some Problems with "Adventist" Futurism [5] by Angel Rodriguez, but left more unsaid that what it actually said judging from reactions to it on other Adventist sites which criticized the article for its vagueness.

Even though one of the intentions of Adventist Futurism is to attract the kind of individual that is seriously interested in futurology, futurism, science, aesthetics, ethics, space exploration, cybernetics, and several other forward-thinking and positive areas of study, let no one be hoodwinked about one thing. It is our sincere hope that you put aside any preconceived ideas or biases about the foundation without which Adventist Futurism would be meaningless. To quote from the article that launched the discovery of Adventist Futurism, "Christ Jesus, Lord and Savior, is as important as He ever was . . ." [6]

Since the first post was published, more than three years ago, there have been 545 visits from 363 cities in 60 countries. The principal countries visiting the Adventist Futurism Manifesto are the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Additionally three countries whose official language is other than English, France, Mexico and Belgium, also showed significant interest in the information in the post.

A total of 770 pages were visited by the individuals who chanced upon or were referred to the Adventist Futurism Manifesto. The average time spent on the page, in question, was two minutes and 45 seconds. Most people who found the Manifesto were referred by Google, Images.Google.com, Spectrummagazine.org, Progressiveadventism.com, and Adventist-forum.blogspot.com. Additionally, significant amounts of visitors were also referred by Yahoo and Blogger.com while others accessed the post in question directly.

References:

1. "There are really four dimensions, three which we call the three planes of Space, and a fourth, Time. There is, however, a tendency to draw an unreal distinction between the former three dimensions and the latter, because it happens that our consciousness moves intermittently in one direction along the latter from the beginning to the end of our lives." Wells, H.G.. The Time Machine, chapter 1. 1895
2. Adventist Futurism: Manifesto, Third Principle
3. Adventist Futurism: Manifesto
4. Northern Lord vs. Southern Lord Please refer to the Labels section in the blog in question for access to all 39 posts under the heading of Adventist Futurism.
5. Some Problems with "Adventist" Futurism
6. Adventist Futurism: Manifesto, Second Principle