Predestination is misunderstood...

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maxamir

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Mar 8, 2024
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That is just nonsense. You gave Ephesians 1:4 as an example. So let's take a really close look at it and the next verse:

DOES THIS SAY "... THAT WE SHOULD BE SAVED?"
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

DOES THIS SAY "PREDESTINED US TO BE SAVED?"
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

As usual people have been taking verses and saying they mean something when they mean something else.
If you deny the doctrine of predestination then you deny the triune work of the Godhead where the Father chose a number which no man can number from all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues and sent His Son to secure salvation for them and the Holy Spirit seals it to those whom the Father had chosen by grace though the foolishness of Gospel preaching. Therefore to deny the doctrine of predestination which drips from just about every page of Holy Scripture is to deny the Trinity. Is that what you are do?

As for God choosing some for salvation and other for damnation. I give you the Scriptures below to ponder and try to twist to your man-centred view.

Rom 9:22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction

Pro 16:4 The LORD has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.

Psa 92:7 When the wicked spring up like grass, And when all the workers of iniquity flourish, It is that they may be destroyed forever.
 

maxamir

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Mar 8, 2024
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PaulThomson said:
When will we see the kingdom of God?
Luke 21:31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.




So, we will never "see" the kingdom?

So, what is the context of the verse you are citing? Are you trying to prove that no one will see the kingdom because it is spiritual and therefore invisible?

Luke 17:20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, he answered them,
"The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed. 21 Nor will they say, "
Look, here it is!" or "Look, there it is!" for behold, the kingdom of God is in the your midst.
And he said to his disciples,
"The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, "Look there!" or "Look here!" Do not go out or follow them. 24For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the the Son of Man be in His day. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise just as it was in the days of Lot - they were eating and drinking and buying and selling, planting and building. 29But on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all - 30 so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.... etc.

How does this shine light on Jesus saying to Nicodemus, "Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God"?

Does it say that unless one is born again he cannot believe? No, it does not.
Seeing the kingdom is seeing the King in the glory of His kingdom. Jesus told another audience,
Matt. 16:27 "For the Son of Man is to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay every man for what he has done.
28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in His kingdom."
17:1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart. 2 And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to the Moses and Elijah talking with Him.

So here we see the King manifesting the Father's glory along with two angels/messengers. This fits Jesus' description in Matt. 16:27.

In the Luke 17 passage, from which you cited v. 21, the Son of Man is appearing in His Father's glory. in v. 24
To those who are not born again, Jesus coming in His kingdom will be a blinding light. They won't see the Man. But those who have been born again, will see the Man clothed in glory.

To the unbelievers, the kingdom is not coming with signs they will be able to recognise as precursors beforehand. The veiled kingdom of God, in the form of the common-looking King, was already in their midst, but the unbelieving Pharisees could not recognise the signs of its veiled presence among them.

Very few people see the Son coming in His kingdom before the Lord's return. But those who are born again will see it at His coming. We do not see the kingdom of heaven when we believe the gospel. It is among us invisibly, in a veiled form, but we see evidence of its invisible presence. However, at His coming it will be visible as a King and glory for those who have been born again. And at His coming it will come unexpectedly as a thief and be blinding light. They will not see the King as man clothed in glory.

This analysis debunks the idea that the judgment of Jerusalem in AD 70 was Jesus coming in glory, the kingdom coming.
It also debunks the idea that being born again immediately enables us to see the kingdom of God.
It also debunks the idea seeing the kingdom is having faith. Having faith is not seeing, because we walk by faith, not by sight.
those who are spiritually dead can not and will not see the Kingdom of God unless they are regenerated.

1Co 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The Kingdom of God reigns presently in His people as they herald the glorious victory that He has won for them and those who are not His people remain in darkness until He comes in flaming fire in judgement against those who do not know Him or obey His Gospel (2 Thes 1:7-9).

Please state your exact theological, eschatological and doctrinal position if you wish to discuss this further rather than me trying to guess where you stand.
 
Mar 7, 2024
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I have a staff and we hash everything.
We discuss what I read here as well.
I have a pc in the office and some times it is them answering but we're in agreement.
Do you have a Shepherd, as in Church Elder or Minister on board. Discussing Bible doctrine with others who God has not appointed to lead and teach can be problematic. We don't want to form erroneous views unwittingly.

Every Bible doctrine must line up with all the others. Bible study can be very difficult, because there seem to be contradictions in the Bible. Many people don't like dealing with certain difficult verses because they don't line up with some others which they have understood in a way that makes sense to them.

So I believe it is very important to be guided by a qualified Minister.
 

FollowerofShiloh

Well-known member
Jan 24, 2024
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Do you have a Shepherd, as in Church Elder or Minister on board. Discussing Bible doctrine with others who God has not appointed to lead and teach can be problematic. We don't want to form erroneous views unwittingly.

Every Bible doctrine must line up with all the others. Bible study can be very difficult, because there seem to be contradictions in the Bible. Many people don't like dealing with certain difficult verses because they don't line up with some others which they have understood in a way that makes sense to them.

So I believe it is very important to be guided by a qualified Minister.
I am ordained and so are those on my staff.
 

maxamir

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Mar 8, 2024
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I don't see "spiritually dead" in any of those verses you are using to justify inferring from the Bible that "spiritually dead" is areal thing, and then filling the term with all kinds of baggage.

I have a post analysing Luke 9:60 and the meaning of dead therein, and touching on John 9:60. Did you read it. Would you like to engage with me on it? Or do you just want to keep making bald assertions about what you think the Bible means?
I am sorry to have to say this, but if you do not see the Scriptures which clearly describe the state of man as being spiritually dead then you are not yet regenerated and have yet to see yourself before a thrice holy God and be humbled to see yourself deserving His just wrath and your desperate need for grace in Christ alone.

lost.jpg
 

Mem

Senior Member
Sep 23, 2014
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Scripture interprets Scripture and that is what you have been given in context of the whole of Scripture which points to Christ.

Does salvation belong to the Lord or the choice of men?
Jesus told the woman with the issue of blood, "Your faith has saved you." She had faith to reach out for his garment, faithful that "if I but touch his garment"... She knew salvation belonged to Him, and it was her choice to reach out for it.
 

PaulThomson

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Oct 29, 2023
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I am sorry to have to say this, but if you do not see the Scriptures which clearly describe the state of man as being spiritually dead then you are not yet regenerated and have yet to see yourself before a thrice holy God and be humbled to see yourself deserving His just wrath and your desperate need for grace in Christ alone.

View attachment 261479
I still don't see any scripturebacking up your opinions. Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who is Steven Lawson?
 

PaulThomson

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Oct 29, 2023
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The soulish man is having no human spirit. Spiritually dead.; He is body and soul only.
He can not grasp the the things of the Spirit, and they are foolishness to him.
This appears to be your definition of "spiritually dead".

Can you please verify from scripture that he has no spirit?

Can you explain what "the things of the spirit" are, that you say the spiritually dead cannot grasp.
 

Genez

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Oct 12, 2017
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Doesn't say the serpent was Satan.

That's an opinion

Just like all the other opinions in this thread

Yes, the serpent in Genesis chapter 3 was Satan. Satan was either appearing as a serpent, possessing the serpent, or deceiving Adam and Eve into believing that it was the serpent who was talking to them. Serpents / snakes do not possess the ability to speak. Revelation 12:9 and 20:2 both describe Satan as a serpent. "He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years" (Revelation 20:2). "The great dragon was hurled down, that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him" (Revelation 12:9). Was Satan the serpent in Genesis chapter 3?

Serpent (Greek: ὄφις; Trans: Ophis, /ˈo. fis/; "snake", "serpent") occurs in the Book of Revelation as the "ancient serpent" or "old serpent" used to describe "the dragon", Satan the Adversary, who is the devil. Serpents in the Bible

.........
 

Genez

Junior Member
Oct 12, 2017
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This appears to be your definition of "spiritually dead".

Can you please verify from scripture that he has no spirit?

Can you explain what "the things of the spirit" are, that you say the spiritually dead cannot grasp.
Verify? He is called in the Greek the "soulish man." Look up the other translations and you will even see some translators took the liberty to define what was taking place with the soulish man, saying he has no ' spirit."

Look here!

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God... 1 Cor 2:14.​

The word “natural” means soulish. We get our word “psychology” from this word. The” natural man” is all soul, pure psychology, and no spirit. He has natural capacity but no spiritual capacity (psuchikos). He does not have the capacity to relate to God because he has had only one birth; he has not had a second birth. He may outwardly be very moral or righteous, but inwardly he is dead to God. He is no more than a soul and without spiritual capacity. He cannot connect to God. "



May I ask what is your Christian background?
 

Nehemiah6

Senior Member
Jul 18, 2017
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From the Torah. The correct word is Nāḥāš and it means fortune telling/divination
Of course that Hebrew was in the Torah. Where else do you think it came from?
Westminster Leningrad Codex (Gen 3:1)
וְהַנָּחָשׁ֙ הָיָ֣ה עָר֔וּם מִכֹּל֙ חַיַּ֣ת הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָׂ֖ה יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֶל־הָ֣אִשָּׁ֔ה אַ֚ף כִּֽי־אָמַ֣ר אֱלֹהִ֔ים לֹ֣א תֹֽאכְל֔וּ מִכֹּ֖ל עֵ֥ץ הַגָּֽן׃
וְהַנָּחָשׁ֙ (wə-han-nā-ḥāš) = now the serpent

And according to you the Hebrew scholars who gave us the English equivalent were ignorant.

NASB Translation
serpent (24), serpent's (2), serpents (2), snake (1).
Where are the fortune tellers in this?
 

sawdust

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Feb 12, 2024
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My contention has from the beginning been that nowhere in the Bible does claim to be fair. He does, however, claim to be just.
So, can you show me from scripture where God claims to be fair?
If you read the story of the landowner who at intervals during the day hired workers. At the end of the day, he paid them all the same wage. Was that fair or just?
And my contention is your understanding of the word fair is unbiblical so how the heck can I find what isn't biblical in the Bible?

If you want verses according to it's correct meaning, happy to oblige.
 
Dec 18, 2023
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Yes, the serpent in Genesis chapter 3 was Satan. Satan was either appearing as a serpent, possessing the serpent, or deceiving Adam and Eve into believing that it was the serpent who was talking to them. Serpents / snakes do not possess the ability to speak. Revelation 12:9 and 20:2 both describe Satan as a serpent. "He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years" (Revelation 20:2). "The great dragon was hurled down, that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him" (Revelation 12:9). Was Satan the serpent in Genesis chapter 3?

Serpent (Greek: ὄφις; Trans: Ophis, /ˈo. fis/; "snake", "serpent") occurs in the Book of Revelation as the "ancient serpent" or "old serpent" used to describe "the dragon", Satan the Adversary, who is the devil. Serpents in the Bible

.........
So your saying God created the devil to make Adam and eve fall in the Garden of eden, where God walked with Adam and eve, and God also created this knowing mankind would die.

And your also saying God created all this even if the serpent was not directly satan, it still could of been satan because because Satan could of possessed the serpent,

So your saying if the serpent was possessed by satan, it would still be satan.

Which one is it with your opinions, and your Hebrew Gods of interpretation.

Is it the serpent was Satan or it was Satan because satan possessed it, ( how absurd).

Right ok So your also saying God created man to fall, knowing that they would fall as a result of a creature being possessed.



So may I ask also, are you somebody else who's knows every everything about God also. 😊
 
Dec 18, 2023
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I know exactly everything about God that He has decreed me to know about Him.

If you do not make your point soon, you will be ignored for being a time waster.
Time.waster , seriously 🤔

I've spent the best part of several hours trying to talk to people who have all rejected over a dozen different suggestions, that line up with scripture.

And I'm the time waster.

Now I'm having to contend with only the Hebrew bible Is correct.

So that must mean all the biblical scholars of the past are time wasters too, because they never knew God like modern day English translators of Hebrew do.
 
Dec 18, 2023
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In the English you will read an ordinary snake. In the Hebrew you will read a fortune teller/divination. So yes, the English is a horrible translation in Genesis 3.
oh well that confirms your wonderful Hebrew Gods of interpretation then

The serpent was telling somebody a fortune was it not.

If I got my crystal ball out and said get give me some money and you will surely be rich after I give you some advice.

Would that make me a fortune teller also, and would that make me satan.

Do you see how absurd your Hebrew God is.


.
 
Dec 3, 2023
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The word God used for this particular snake with Eve is called Nāḥāš. Nāḥāš means fortune telling/divination, which that is what the serpent did when he told Eve, 5 for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.' < God even confirms that is what Satan did, Fortune told/Divinated Eve (22 And the LORD God said: 'Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil).

So God knew the snake was Evil, which is Satan, and used a term only used for snake defined as fortune telling/divination.

No other snake has been called this. So we know it is Satan by the word Nāḥāš.

And if you read Genesis 3, God uses the term "Nāḥāš" BEFORE Satan ever speaks to Eve.
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent "Nāḥāš" was more subtle...
So God is making it clear before the serpent speaks this is Satan.
Kind of interesting.God really wants us to be as God. But I think knowing good and evil may also bring blindness Instead of opening eyes.
But according to fortune telling,The consequences of eating it are part of it.
But I don't agree with one thing,they can be as god without eating that fruit.
 

PaulThomson

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Oct 29, 2023
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Please state your exact theological, eschatological and doctrinal position if you wish to discuss this further rather than me trying to guess where you stand.
I don't get my theology from men and then force it into the Bible. I try to let God speak through the words He chose to use in editing the scriptures. I am not going to pigeon-hole myself so that you can well-poison my interpretation of texts based on what you think those so labeled believe. If you would rather jingo-ise and cheer for your team vs what you perceive as my team than discuss the meaning of texts, the value of conversation with you on the meaning of scripture will be reduced to close to zero.
 

PaulThomson

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Oct 29, 2023
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Verify? He is called in the Greek the "soulish man." Look up the other translations and you will even see some translators took the liberty to define what was taking place with the soulish man, saying he has no ' spirit."

Look here!

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God... 1 Cor 2:14.​

The word “natural” means soulish. We get our word “psychology” from this word. The” natural man” is all soul, pure psychology, and no spirit. He has natural capacity but no spiritual capacity (psuchikos). He does not have the capacity to relate to God because he has had only one birth; he has not had a second birth. He may outwardly be very moral or righteous, but inwardly he is dead to God. He is no more than a soul and without spiritual capacity. He cannot connect to God. "



May I ask what is your Christian background?
Where does scripture say a soulish man has no spirit? Where are you getting that idea from in the text of the Bible?

Raised in Roman Catholicism. Rejected that at 15 years old.
Believed in Jesus and baptised into the church by the Holy Spirit at age 22. Have fellowshipped in Alive Christian Fellowship, Baptist, Reformed Orthodox, Open Brethren, Nazarene, Assemblies of God, Bible Bhavan and Delhi Bible Fellowship congregations over the years.