How do preachers or teachers explain this?

[Godsgood]

The condition of my heart is that of a sinner saved entirely by God's grace through the work of my Saviour on the cross. Much of God's word is literally true. It is not one long parable from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22.

That just is not so. Take the Flood for example. God actually made this promise afterwards:

NKJV Gen 9:11 Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."

So we don't see all these things as continuing to happen and as things that will happen again.

You are making judgments about me again. Saying that God's word will never pass away certainly is not "something I say or something that comes out of my mouth." It is something that I firmly believe because it is taught clearly in the Bible. It is something that I preach, and a truth that I firmly hold.

So we don't see all these things as continuing to happen and as things that will happen again.
You are making judgments about me again. Saying that God's word will never pass away certainly is not "something I say or something that comes out of my mouth." It is something that I firmly believe because it is taught clearly in the Bible. It is something that I preach, and a truth that I firmly hold.

You said that you believe in Matthew 24:35. However, there is a difference between simply believing Ecclesiastes 1:9 and Matthew 24:35 and actually proving them through your actions. What pleases God are those who bear witness to the truth and live according to it, not merely those who claim to believe.
LUKE 11:28
28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.


The Lord Jesus, in His role as the Son of the living God, was able to recognize the one true God (John 8:54–55).
He was therefore also granted spiritual eyes to see and understand that the word of God in Ecclesiastes 1:9 & Matthew 24:35 is something that He Himself would bear witness to and prove true. That what happened in the days of Noah, He could see still happening again in His own time.
LUKE 17:26-27
26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

How can you deny this?

 

[DavidLamb]

The word Little Children and Like Little Children are different. The disciples of Christ are Little Children and not Like Little Children.

Not accord to Jesus:

Mat 18:3 and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

It is necessary to become as (or like) little children. Jesus doesn't say we have to become little children.

 

[DavidLamb]

What do you understand in Gen 9:11?

Exactly what the verse says. That God will establish His covenant with Noah. That God would never again cut off all flesh by a flood, or destroy the whole earth again with a flood.

 

[DavidLamb]

So we don't see all these things as continuing to happen and as things that will happen again.
You are making judgments about me again. Saying that God's word will never pass away certainly is not "something I say or something that comes out of my mouth." It is something that I firmly believe because it is taught clearly in the Bible. It is something that I preach, and a truth that I firmly hold.

You said that you believe in Matthew 24:35. However, there is a difference between simply believing Ecclesiastes 1:9 and Matthew 24:35 and actually proving them through your actions. What pleases God are those who bear witness to the truth and live according to it, not merely those who claim to believe.
LUKE 11:28
28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

How do you know what my actions are? How do you know whether my actions reflect my belief in Matthew 24:35?

The Lord Jesus, in His role as the Son of the living God, was able to recognize the one true God (John 8:54–55).
He was therefore also granted spiritual eyes to see and understand that the word of God in Ecclesiastes 1:9 & Matthew 24:35 is something that He Himself would bear witness to and prove true. That what happened in the days of Noah, He could see still happening again in His own time.
LUKE 17:26-27
26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

How can you deny this?

What have I written that makes you think I deny Luke 17:26-27? Those verses don't say that God is going to flood the world again. They say that in the the days of the Son of man, people will be carrying on with their lives, eating, drinking, marrying, just as the people of Noah's time did before the Flood came.

 

[Godsgood]

Not accord to Jesus:

Mat 18:3 and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

It is necessary to become as (or like) little children. Jesus doesn't say we have to become little children.

Let us not deviate from the subject at hand.
We are talking about the twelve-year-old girl who, according to human understanding, is understood to be literally and physically a twelve-year-old girl. For that is the extent of human wisdom.
However, God speaks in parables.
Therefore, the twelve-year-old girl is not to be understood as a literal, physical twelve-year-old girl, but as a spiritual twelve-year-old girl.
1 CORINTHIANS 2:13
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

 

[Godsgood]

Exactly what the verse says. That God will establish His covenant with Noah. That God would never again cut off all flesh by a flood, or destroy the whole earth again with a flood.

The clear understanding of God’s Word according to human reasoning is not necessarily the truth. That is why God warned us not to rely on our own understanding.
PROVERBS 3:5
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

For whoever relies on his own understanding makes God out to be a liar.
For God Himself said in Ecclesiastes 1:9 that what has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again.
Therefore, nothing is truly new, for what has already happened will happen again.
ECCLESIASTES 1:9
9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

Any understanding that contradicts even a single word of the Holy Scriptures is not the truth.

 

[Dino246]

The Lord Jesus, in His role as the Son of the living God, was able to recognize the one true God (John 8:54–55).
He was therefore also granted spiritual eyes to see and understand

I see clearly that your sight is clouded.

Jesus only had to look in the mirror to recognize the one true God. He wasn't "granted spiritual eyes"; He IS the grantor of sight. EVERYTHING that was made was made through Jesus. He is the giver of sight to the blind... both literal and spiritual.

that the word of God in Ecclesiastes 1:9 & Matthew 24:35 is something that He Himself would bear witness to and prove true. That what happened in the days of Noah, He could see still happening again in His own time.

LUKE 17:26-27

26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

He was not seeing it "still happening again in His own time", He was telling the people that it would happen again. There is a difference.

It's the difference between seeing a stone ever falling but never landing (your position) versus seeing a stone fall and land (truth and reality). The stone fell and landed, and it would again fall and land.

 

[Dino246]

Let us not deviate from the subject at hand.
We are talking about the twelve-year-old girl who, according to human understanding, is understood to be literally and physically a twelve-year-old girl. For that is the extent of human wisdom.
However, God speaks in parables.
Therefore, the twelve-year-old girl is not to be understood as a literal, physical twelve-year-old girl, but as a spiritual twelve-year-old girl.
1 CORINTHIANS 2:13
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

There is nothing whatsoever in the text suggesting that the little girl is to be understood parabolically. You're inventing things out of thin air and claiming they are truth. In reality, they are hogwash and codswollop. Scripture knows nothing of "a spiritual twelve-year-old girl".

 

[Dino246]

Any understanding that contradicts even a single word of the Holy Scriptures is not the truth.

Your understanding regarding the identity of Jesus Christ contradicts many words of Scripture, therefore by your own words, it is not the truth.

 

[Godsgood]

How do you know what my actions are? How do you know whether my actions reflect my belief in Matthew 24:35?

What have I written that makes you think I deny Luke 17:26-27? Those verses don't say that God is going to flood the world again. They say that in the the days of the Son of man, people will be carrying on with their lives, eating, drinking, marrying, just as the people of Noah's time did before the Flood came.

The Lord is not merely telling us what people were doing before the Flood came.
For if He were simply recounting the things people were doing at that time, then it would serve only as a historical story, with no basis or warning for our salvation.
Rather, He is revealing why the great Flood came: because they were eating, drinking, and marrying.

According to the plain understanding of man, there was nothing wrong with what the people were doing in those days. So why did the great Flood come?
But we who know the one true God, and who believe that the Lord speaks in parables and dark sayings, have asked Him for mercy.

We therefore ask Him to reveal to us what “eating,” “drinking,” and “marrying” mean in the sight of God.
And God has testified that what they were doing was indeed evil in His sight.

 

[Godsgood]

How do you know what my actions are? How do you know whether my actions reflect my belief in Matthew 24:35?

What have I written that makes you think I deny Luke 17:26-27? Those verses don't say that God is going to flood the world again. They say that in the the days of the Son of man, people will be carrying on with their lives, eating, drinking, marrying, just as the people of Noah's time did before the Flood came.

How do you know what my actions are? How do you know whether my actions reflect my belief in Matthew 24:35?

The Lord said in John 3:12, “I have spoken to you of earthly things so that you may understand heavenly things.”

Now, concerning earthly things, imagine two people having a conversation. The first says, “I see beautiful flowers. They have different colors that are pleasing to look at.”

The second says, “I believe that the flowers are beautiful and that their different colors are pleasing to the eyes. However, I do not actually see any flowers.”

Which of the two is blessed?

 

[Godsgood]

Not accord to Jesus:

Mat 18:3 and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

It is necessary to become as (or like) little children. Jesus doesn't say we have to become little children.

When the Lord calls His disciples, what is your understanding of the phrase “as little children or as this little children”?
Or does He call them “My little children”?
1 JOHN 2:1
2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

 

[Godsgood]

The condition of my heart is that of a sinner saved entirely by God's grace through the work of my Saviour on the cross. Much of God's word is literally true. It is not one long parable from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22.

That just is not so. Take the Flood for example. God actually made this promise afterwards:

NKJV Gen 9:11 Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."

So we don't see all these things as continuing to happen and as things that will happen again.

You are making judgments about me again. Saying that God's word will never pass away certainly is not "something I say or something that comes out of my mouth." It is something that I firmly believe because it is taught clearly in the Bible. It is something that I preach, and a truth that I firmly hold.

We who have come to know the one true God testify to the truth of Ecclesiastes 1:9 and Matthew 24:35: that the things you mentioned, the twelve-year-old girl, the great Flood that came upon the whole world, and the parting of the Red Sea are still happening in our time.

If you do not see these things happening today, then you certainly do not see that Pharaoh is still reigning in Egypt. And even more, you do not see where Egypt is today.

You may look at a map to prove that you can see Egypt. But what you do not know is that King Pharaoh and Egypt are right before you.

The Jews, led by their teachers, the scribes and the Pharisees, also believed in Ecclesiastes 1:9, but they did not testify to its truth because they could not see it. Since they did not know the one true God, they were blind.
JOHN 9:39-41
39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

 

[DavidLamb]

Let us not deviate from the subject at hand.
We are talking about the twelve-year-old girl who, according to human understanding, is understood to be literally and physically a twelve-year-old girl. For that is the extent of human wisdom.
However, God speaks in parables.
Therefore, the twelve-year-old girl is not to be understood as a literal, physical twelve-year-old girl, but as a spiritual twelve-year-old girl.
1 CORINTHIANS 2:13
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

How was I deviating? I was replying to your post where you claimed that the disciple had to become literal children You wrote:

"The word Little Children and Like Little Children are different. The disciples of Christ are Little Children and not Like Little Children."

My reply addressed your words, and I quoted Jesus saying that they had to become as (= like) little children. That is not deviating.

 

[DavidLamb]

The clear understanding of God’s Word according to human reasoning is not necessarily the truth. That is why God warned us not to rely on our own understanding.
PROVERBS 3:5
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

For whoever relies on his own understanding makes God out to be a liar.
For God Himself said in Ecclesiastes 1:9 that what has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again.
Therefore, nothing is truly new, for what has already happened will happen again.
ECCLESIASTES 1:9
9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

Any understanding that contradicts even a single word of the Holy Scriptures is not the truth.

No, I agree, we are not to lean on our own understanding. That is why we need the Holy Spirit to illumine the pages of Scripture for us. That is the same Holy Spirit Who inspired the human writers of Scripture, including Moses, who wrote Genesis 9:11. But not leaning on our own understanding doesn't mean that we look at a verse like Genesis 9:11, and say to ourselves, "Well the words seem to say that God will establish His covenant with Noah, that He will never again cut off all flesh with a flood, or destroy the earth with a flood, but that's just my understanding. It must mean something different." Taking Genesis 9:11 to mean what it says is not an understanding that contradicts even a single word of the Holy Scriptures.

 

[DavidLamb]

The Lord is not merely telling us what people were doing before the Flood came.
For if He were simply recounting the things people were doing at that time, then it would serve only as a historical story, with no basis or warning for our salvation.
Rather, He is revealing why the great Flood came: because they were eating, drinking, and marrying.

That is just wrong. The Flood was not sent by by God because people were eating, drinking, and marrying. Genesis 6 tells us why He sent it:

NKJV Gen 6:11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
Gen 6:12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
Gen 6:13 And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Eating, drinking and marrying are not sinful. The reason they are mentioned in reference to the Flood is that they show that people were carrying on with their everyday lives as if the Flood was not going to happen. Nowhere does the Bible tell us that God sent the Flood because people wre eating and drinking and marrying.

According to the plain understanding of man, there was nothing wrong with what the people were doing in those days. So why did the great Flood come?
But we who know the one true God, and who believe that the Lord speaks in parables and dark sayings, have asked Him for mercy.

Nothing to do with dark sayings. God told Noah why He was sending the Flood.

We therefore ask Him to reveal to us what “eating,” “drinking,” and “marrying” mean in the sight of God.
And God has testified that what they were doing was indeed evil in His sight.

"Eating, drinking and marrying" in that context means that the people were just carrying on with their everyday lives, with no thought of the Flood, or in our time, of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

[DavidLamb]

How do you know what my actions are? How do you know whether my actions reflect my belief in Matthew 24:35?

The Lord said in John 3:12, “I have spoken to you of earthly things so that you may understand heavenly things.”

Now, concerning earthly things, imagine two people having a conversation. The first says, “I see beautiful flowers. They have different colors that are pleasing to look at.”

The second says, “I believe that the flowers are beautiful and that their different colors are pleasing to the eyes. However, I do not actually see any flowers.”

Which of the two is blessed?

That doesn't answer my question, which was, "How do you know what my actions are?"

As for seeing the flowers, I would say that there is a third option, seeing the flowers and their beauty, and knowing that they were created by almighty God. Doing that is more blessed than either believing that the flowers are beautiful, but not seeing them, or seeing the flowers and recognising their beauty.

 

[DavidLamb]

When the Lord calls His disciples, what is your understanding of the phrase “as little children or as this little children”?
Or does He call them “My little children”?
1 JOHN 2:1
2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

My understanding of "as little children" is "like little children", in other words having a child-like trust. When John calls his fellow believers "my little children" he doesn't mean that he is writing to youngsters between the ages of 0 and 12, literal children. As Jamieson, Fausset and Brown write in their commentary on that verse:

"My little children — The diminutive expresses the tender affection of an aged pastor and spiritual father."

 

[DavidLamb]

We who have come to know the one true God testify to the truth of Ecclesiastes 1:9 and Matthew 24:35: that the things you mentioned, the twelve-year-old girl, the great Flood that came upon the whole world, and the parting of the Red Sea are still happening in our time.

If you do not see these things happening today, then you certainly do not see that Pharaoh is still reigning in Egypt. And even more, you do not see where Egypt is today.

You may look at a map to prove that you can see Egypt. But what you do not know is that King Pharaoh and Egypt are right before you.

The Jews, led by their teachers, the scribes and the Pharisees, also believed in Ecclesiastes 1:9, but they did not testify to its truth because they could not see it. Since they did not know the one true God, they were blind.
JOHN 9:39-41
39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

The Lord said that He would never again flood the whole world. The Pharaohs have been deed for hundreds of years. I understand that the last Pharaoh was Cleopatra who died in the year 30 B.C. Your notion that I have to believe in a 21st century Pharaoh in order to have a right understanding of the Bible and God is just wrong. Where do you get such strange ideas?

 

[Godsgood]

No, I agree, we are not to lean on our own understanding. That is why we need the Holy Spirit to illumine the pages of Scripture for us. That is the same Holy Spirit Who inspired the human writers of Scripture, including Moses, who wrote Genesis 9:11. But not leaning on our own understanding doesn't mean that we look at a verse like Genesis 9:11, and say to ourselves, "Well the words seem to say that God will establish His covenant with Noah, that He will never again cut off all flesh with a flood, or destroy the earth with a flood, but that's just my understanding. It must mean something different." Taking Genesis 9:11 to mean what it says is not an understanding that contradicts even a single word of the Holy Scriptures.

No, I agree, we are not to lean on our own understanding. That is why we need the Holy Spirit to illumine the pages of Scripture for us. That is the same Holy Spirit Who inspired the human writers of Scripture, including Moses, who wrote Genesis 9:11.

If Moses wrote Genesis, it was because God dictated to him exactly what he was to write. It could never have been merely a matter of inspiration by the Holy Spirit.
Because if it is true that the Holy Spirit inspires people to write the words of God, then could there be someone in our time who could apply that same principle and write things that have not yet been written in Scripture?
Where does it say here that he was inspired by the Holy Spirit?
JOHN 21:25
25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.