Does God know what He will be doing a trillion years from now?

[Izzel]

there is no time in heaven so the question really doesn't have a valid answer.

.

[TruthFirst]

 

Your initial question is a completely separate line of thought than what you are now arguing.

 

The whole "time" thing has no meaning to a Being who is outside of, inside, encompassing, directing, etc., time.

 

This is the point I was focusing on.

 

God IS, WAS, and IS TO COME. This speaks loudly that God exists in the past, the present, and the future - no, not has existed in the past, but DOES exist in the past - and not will exist in the future, he DOES exist there.

 

This is why your question misses the mark.

 

Unfortunately I cannot discuss this time thing with such twisted logic. God is not on the Cross nor is HE creating this universe therefore he is not in the past. However there was a time past when God was all alone. Today in the present that in not the case, He is interacting with created beings. And there will be a time in the future when God Jesus will reign in the millenium after the present time where He is seated at the right hand of the Father. This all sugests that God did have a past (WAS), (IS) in the present and does have a future (IS TO COME) although all that time has no bearing on His existence. Consider, God lives an eternal successions of nows.

 

When God communed with Jesus on earth He was walking in time daily with Him. Now He walks in time daily with us. That time affects us in many ways, it however has no effect on Him not because He is outside of time but because He is Eternal.

[nebula]

 

Your initial question is a completely separate line of thought than what you are now arguing.

 

The whole "time" thing has no meaning to a Being who is outside of, inside, encompassing, directing, etc., time.

 

This is the point I was focusing on.

 

God IS, WAS, and IS TO COME. This speaks loudly that God exists in the past, the present, and the future - no, not has existed in the past, but DOES exist in the past - and not will exist in the future, he DOES exist there.

 

This is why your question misses the mark.

 

Unfortunately I cannot discuss this time thing with such twisted logic. God is not on the Cross

 

Yet:

Revelation 13:8 - And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

How could Jesus be "slain from the foundation of the world?"

 

nor is HE creating this universe therefore he is not in the past.

Not on the timeline we are on. But He is Eternity, which is not bound by our timeline.

 

However there was a time past when God was all alone. Today in the present that in not the case, He is interacting with created beings. And there will be a time in the future when God Jesus will reign in the millenium after the present time where He is seated at the right hand of the Father. This all sugests that God did have a past (WAS), (IS) in the present and does have a future (IS TO COME) although all that time has no bearing on His existence. Consider, God lives an eternal successions of nows.

What did God mean when He said to Jeremiah:

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee;..." (Jeremiah 1:5)

And what then does this mean?

"...and in thy book all my members were written , which in continuance were fashioned , when as yet there was none of them." (Psalm 139:16)

 

When God communed with Jesus on earth He was walking in time daily with Him. Now He walks in time daily with us.

Actually, I am not denying that, either.

 

That time affects us in many ways, it however has no effect on Him not because He is outside of time but because He is Eternal.

In Hebrew thought, of which the Bible was written, time is not a timeline; it's more like a spiral. Time is circular while it is progressing. Thus, it is not difficult to imagine God residing over time while yet interacting with each moment.

~~~~~~

In any event, please stop assuming I have been making a case against what your intended message is.

You see, in a trillion of our years, the universe as we know it may not even exist anymore. Which is why I gave the initial response that I did.

But as for your true question: does God change His mind? It depends on what you mean.

Does He change His beliefs, opinions, values, and the like? No.

Does He change His course of action? At times He has (as with Moses pleading for God to spare the Israelites).

P.S. I am not a Calvinist.

[chloe_fantastic]

 

 you must be one of the few on this board

We have many members who don't believe in predestination, as well as many who do. From what I can see, it's a pretty even distribution of both.

[enoob57]

Until we relinquish our mind to The Mind of God's Word we will continue to have our own thoughts

formed from an imperfect place in a limited reason that God of The Bible will not be in... God is

without beginning and this alone distinguishes Him to all else which He has brought into being for

His Good Pleasure! Therefore He has a place all Of His Own and there is no other

Dan 3:29

29 Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks

anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut

in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other

God who can deliver like this."

NKJV

After this powerful king saw the truth that 'That This Being God was indeed able to manipulate the

the created element' He then decree's and enforces the demand to hold God in His Proper place!

So as God has demonstrated throughout His Word that He 'IS' indeed

There is no other. Deut 4:35; Isa 44:6.

In any direction of existence. Isa 43:10-11.

He alone 'IS' like no other. Ex 9:14; Deut 33:26; 2 Sam 7:22; Isa 46:5,9; Jer 10:6.

There is no other goodness. Matt 19:17.

He fills heaven and earth as indicators of Himself. 1 Kings 8:27; Jer 23:24.

He should be worshipped in spirit and in truth. John 4:24.

It is a common malady to drag The God of The Bible into our own thought process in order to encompass Him

in a more believable instance of our own experience... that truly is a sad thing and is why we are corrupted

by sin and it's affects upon our reason and mind-> renewal is the only solution

Phil 2:5

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus

Rom 12:2

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye

may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Eph 4:23-24

23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true

holiness.

Col 3:10

10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that

created him:

Until regeneration this is not possible and after= it is entirely formed from His Word and not from

our former way of life or thoughts...

2 Cor 5:17

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:

old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

KJV

it should be an easy assessment if in fact we are making all things or just part!

Love, Steven

[Guest]

Until we relinquish our mind to The Mind of God's Word we will continue to have our own thoughts

formed from an imperfect place in a limited reason that God of The Bible will not be in... God is

without beginning and this alone distinguishes Him to all else which He has brought into being for

His Good Pleasure! Therefore He has a place all Of His Own and there is no other

Dan 3:29

29 Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks

anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut

in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other

God who can deliver like this."

NKJV

After this powerful king saw the truth that 'That This Being God was indeed able to manipulate the

the created element' He then decree's and enforces the demand to hold God in His Proper place!

So as God has demonstrated throughout His Word that He 'IS' indeed

There is no other. Deut 4:35; Isa 44:6.

In any direction of existence. Isa 43:10-11.

He alone 'IS' like no other. Ex 9:14; Deut 33:26; 2 Sam 7:22; Isa 46:5,9; Jer 10:6.

There is no other goodness. Matt 19:17.

He fills heaven and earth as indicators of Himself. 1 Kings 8:27; Jer 23:24.

He should be worshipped in spirit and in truth. John 4:24.

It is a common malady to drag The God of The Bible into our own thought process in order to encompass Him

in a more believable instance of our own experience... that truly is a sad thing and is why we are corrupted

by sin and it's affects upon our reason and mind-> renewal is the only solution

Phil 2:5

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus

Rom 12:2

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye

may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Eph 4:23-24

23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true

holiness.

Col 3:10

10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that

created him:

Until regeneration this is not possible and after= it is entirely formed from His Word and not from

our former way of life or thoughts...

2 Cor 5:17

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:

old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

KJV

it should be an easy assessment if in fact we are making all things or part!

Love, Steven

 

Amen~!

[kwikphilly]

Blessings Truth

     Twisted logic? Actually,I use no logic at all nor common sense,nor rationality..................the God I serve is beyond anything I can comprehend,He is able to do ALL things & that would include be anywhere,be everywhere in any time,,,,He is without limits or constraint......just my opinion.......Glory to God!!

                                                                                                                                                          With love-in Christ,Kwik

[Guest Butero]

 

I agree with the majority view that God does know everything he will do a trillion years from now, and he never changes his mind because he doesn't make mistakes.  Even when it appears he had a change of heart, it was his intention all the time, because he knew what was going to happen.  That is why I believe in predestination.  God knows all things, so he knew what you and I would become before he created us.  I especially agree with the posts by One Light and Shiloh357.  To believe God doesn't know what he will do in the future is limiting God. 

 

If it's God's intention all the time, then God cannot have a change of heart. God becomes an emotionless God incapable of experience elation at our love for Him. our submissiveness, our obedience or our victories over sin. He is incapable to grieve at our sinfull choice nor is He saddened by hurtfull things that befall us.

?God knows what we would become before He created us? That's unfortunate because eventhough both of us are on this board, we may both be going to Hell and there is absolutely nothing you or I or God can do about it. Not a single drop of the blood of the Lamb can save us because we are predestined to Hell. BTW why would God go through with a plan where the majority of humans end up in Hell.

 

Also, I think you would agree that God would have us pray for all men, evangilize all men; but if my neighbour is destine to Hell, is God not wasting my time and His, is He not deceiving me by telling me to pray for Him, giving me the impression that he can be saved, when in reality the opposite is true. And what if my neighbour is predestined to heaven it is just as much a waste of time to pray for him even though I don't know whether he's going to heaven or not.???.

 

God doesn't ever change his mind.  He just says things in a way thought scripture where we can understand.  Let me give you an example.  God didn't change is mind about destroying Ninevah.  He knew the people there would repent.  He would have destroyed them had they not repented, but he already knew they would believe Jonah.  It appears God repented of the evil he was going to do, but since he knew how the people of Ninevah would react before hand, it wasn't really that God changed his mind. 

 

Before I go any further, let me make it clear that I have never been a follower of John Calvin, or ever been part of a church that was influenced by Calvin.  Every church I have ever been part of taught Wesleyan doctrine.  I have read some of Calvin's teachings, and have a lot of problems with it.  I came to my own conclusions on pre-destination through personal study of scripture.  For example, Peter had no choice but to deny Christ three times.  Jesus wasn't 99.9 percent sure of anything.  He was 100 percent sure what would happen.  Judas Iscariot was created to be the betrayer.  There was no chance he would be saved.  God wasn't 99.9 percent sure what he would do.  He was 100 percent sure.  The Apostle John wasn't going to die a martyr, as many of the disciples did, but on the isle of Patmos after writing Revelation.  God wasn't 99.9 percent sure of this.  He was 100 percent sure. 

 

You have said nothing I haven't considered, and I mean nothing.  Yes, it is possible we were both created to be lost, but what exactly does that mean?  Does it mean that I could put my trust in Christ, live for him the best I can, and wind up in hell?  No.  Perhaps some Calvanists may believe that, but I don't.  What it means is that either one of us could turn our back on God down the road and wind up lost.  If we do, God knew that would happen all along before he created us, so it is no surprise to him, and since he knew us before he created us in our Mother's womb, it was his pre-determined will.  That is why we are told to make our calling and election sure.  Want to make sure you go to heaven?  Keep trusting in Jesus and keep living for him. 

 

Why do I evangelize the lost?  If I do, I was the vessel God created to reach that man or woman that heard the message.  I am doing as I was created to do, and they were in the right place at the right time to hear the message and respond.  It is a simple as that.  It is like a novel that has been written, and I am somewhere in the middle.  The end is set in stone.  It has already been written, but I haven't reached the end so I don't know what it is.  God does.  No matter how many times I read the same book, the ending will always be the same.  Back to evangelism.  If I decide to cop an attitude and refuse to evangelize the lost, God knew what I would do all along.  I wasn't going to be used to reach them.  God knew what Jonah would do when he sent him to Ninevah.  He knew he would refuse to go, and he knew he would use him as a sign and eventually Jonah would go.  Nothing happens by accident, and nothing takes God by surprise.  Do I think you will accept anything I said as true?  I don't know.  You will if you were pre-destined to, and if not, you won't. 

[Guest Butero]

there is no time in heaven so the question really doesn't have a valid answer.

.

I agree that time doesn't exist in heaven.  Time is a creation for our benefit.  That is how God can have no beginning.  People ask how God came into being, and figure that you can surely trace him back far enough to where he didn't exist.  That is because they are basing things on the concept of something that didn't always exist, and still doesn't in the heavenly realm, time. 

[TruthFirst]

Yet:

Revelation 13:8 - And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

How could Jesus be "slain from the foundation of the world?"

 

OK, I hope I can explain clearly to you what I believe so that there is no question about it.

I believe that at some point (Notice I didn’t use the word time) in God’s existence He was alone (No angels, no creation, no humans, nothing)

At some point God had a wonderful thought, He decided of His own free will to bring into existence angelic beings so that He might shower his glory upon them and cultivate a beautiful relationship with them. Obviously this can only be done by providing them with free will also.

God also knew that free will has its risks. Any one of the angels could decide to refuse His love and benevolence. Would they rebel or not?

You see, what I believe (and I know alarms bells are going to go off in your head about now) God DID NOT KNOW the decision of the angels because they literally DID NOT exist. To not know something that does not exist does not diminish God in anyway or diminish His omniscience.

Matter fact, I believe that there was a point, or even an eternal point, in God’s existence that He wasn’t even thinking of creating angels, and if in His own mind he hasn’t even thought about angels how could He know the future decisions of angels. They don’t even exist in His own thoughts, His own mind.

This also goes for man. The difference here is we were created a little lower than the angels. (not having the opportunity to view God directly in all His splendor) If the angels rebel it is instant hell, but for man there’s a second chance.

God knowing full well that man’s choice COULD go sour, Jesus in the counsel of the Godhead decided even “before the foundation of the world” to die for our redemption knowing that He may not have to if man doesn’t. This was decided before man ever existed and was able to formulate his own thoughts.

I’m not trying to convert you to this line of thinking, I’m just trying to get you to consider this line of thought, mull it over.

 

In any event, please stop assuming I have been making a case against what your intended message is.

You see, in a trillion of our years, the universe as we know it may not even exist anymore. Which is why I gave the initial response that I did.

I’m sorry if I misread your intents concerning “making a case”. My apologies.

But as for your true question: does God change His mind? It depends on what you mean.

Does He change His beliefs, opinions, values, and the like? No.

This would not be changing His mind it would changing His character, and,no, He does not change in that way.

Does He change His course of action? At times He has (as with Moses pleading for God to spare the Israelites).

This is more what I mean. I believe God can use a million different courses of action and every one would lead to His designed end.

P.S. I am not a Calvinist.

Glad to hear.