Do you think there is an "appointed" time to die?

[Chango]

Yes I know it's a stone-age thread, but NO. The only reason it's a person's "time to go" is because they don't really get a choice anyway. Go with 'da flow, ya know?

[nene2012]

Originally Posted by spike1611

Hebrews 9:27.

"It is appointed unto man once to die..."

That pretty much says it all.

Please see the verse before that: 26 Otherwise, he would have to suffer often from the founding of the world. But now he has manifested himself once for all time at the conclusion of the systems of things to put sin away through the sacrifice of himself. 27 And as it is reserved for men to die once for all time, but after this a judgment....

In context, it is not stating there is a set time for us to die. What about the Bible’s statement at Ecclesiastes 3:1, 2? Does it prove that there is a set time for a man to die? It reads: “For everything there is an appointed time, even a time for every affair under the heavens: a time for birth and a time to die.” Does this mean that the time of birth and the time of death are fixed for each individual? Remember, it was this same Bible writer who said that ‘time and unforeseen occurrences befall all persons.’ What, then, does the writer mean? He is merely commenting on the continuous cycle of life and its activities. You have seen for yourself that there is a time when people build and a time when they break down; there is a “time to weep and a time to laugh,” and so on. (Eccl. 3:1-8) So, also, a woman gets pregnant, and when the time comes she gives birth. Then again, the time comes when old age, sickness, or the like, bring death. No, not predestination—just the well-known cycle of life.
If we were to believe that scripture promotes a set time for death, then we must also believe God has predestined killings, every time we laugh, every time we speak, etc.
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[nimchimpsky]

I believe our time of exit is predetermined. This is based on the number of close calls I've had that far exceed chance.

[Fred314X]

Originally Posted by kaykay

The book of Ecclesiastes speaks of "a time to be born and a time to die." Do you think this means that God in His sovereignty has somehow appointed a time of our death that can't be changed...by all our valiant efforts to reduce our cholesterol levels, watch our weight, wear seatbelts etc.?

I think it means exactly what it says--and there's such a thing as reading too much meaning into individual phrases. Particularly Biblical phrases.