Total Depravity

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PaulThomson

Well-known member
Oct 29, 2023
2,791
331
83
Are you refusing to call prophecies, prophecy?
No. Prophecies are prophecy.

What do the Hebrew word NaBa' and the Greek word prophEteuO, translated as prophesy, mean? They do not mean "to predict the future", although they may sometimes include a prediction of the future.
 

PennEd

Senior Member
Apr 22, 2013
13,169
8,788
113
Are you saying you have no ability to predict anything future?
No. I cannot predict ANY future event with 100% certainty.

You can predict that tomorrow you will get up and see the sunrise. And the LIKLIHOOD of that happening is very high. But it is absolutely NOT certain. NOTHING, outside of the scope of Scripture IS certain.
You are not guaranteed your next breath, much less seeing the next sunrise.

Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophesied King Zedekiah would see Nebuchadnezzar face to face, die in Babylon, yet not see Babylon.
But of course the LORD saw and ordained it. Zedekiah watched his 2 sons put to death and then had his eyes put out!
And died yrs later in Babylon. EXACTLY as foretold by the Lord.

But you are NOT the Lord. You CANNOT PREDICT ANYTHING to 100% certainty.

This is dangerous ground you tread.
 

PaulThomson

Well-known member
Oct 29, 2023
2,791
331
83
No. I cannot predict ANY future event with 100% certainty.

You can predict that tomorrow you will get up and see the sunrise. And the LIKLIHOOD of that happening is very high. But it is absolutely NOT certain. NOTHING, outside of the scope of Scripture IS certain.
You are not guaranteed your next breath, much less seeing the next sunrise.

Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophesied King Zedekiah would see Nebuchadnezzar face to face, die in Babylon, yet not see Babylon.
But of course the LORD saw and ordained it. Zedekiah watched his 2 sons put to death and then had his eyes put out!
And died yrs later in Babylon. EXACTLY as foretold by the Lord.

But you are NOT the Lord. You CANNOT PREDICT ANYTHING to 100% certainty.

This is dangerous ground you tread.
I can predict the sun rise time tomorrow where I live. You have a very specialised meaning for "knowing" that is a theoretical theological construct and you only apply when it is necessary to prop up your theology. If your mother were booked on a plane to arrive at a certain time next week, you would adjust your timetable to accommodate her coming. Why? Because you know she is coming on that date. If someone asks you,
"When will you see your mother next?" you would say, "
She's coming to visit next week." And if asked
"How do you know that?" you would say, "
She told me so," You would not say,
"I don't know she is coming, I only believe she intends to come."

We do not use language with the theological precision you want to impose on the Bible when the Bible reports people and God knowing stuff in it. Knowing something will happen simply means believing with a high degree of certainty that it will happen. We always have a silent caveat in mind: "... provided nothing unforeseen happens to prevent it."

The Bible was written by men and through men, but using their language, with the meaning they applied to words in real life.