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We have all been His enemies and have done things worthy of death.
God loves His enemies. Jesus teaches us to love our enemies.
God loves them enough to correct them.
Jesus died for all people, including Stalin and Hitler...
God is able.
He is able to change them.
And as what was shared earlier, the harder the case, the greater the victory.
But it really isn't hard for God anyway. It may just look hard or impossible to us.
We already know that they will one day worship Him and willingly confess Him. They will even swear allegiance to Him. Praise God. If Jesus died for all people and if God will have all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, who are we to say that we won't accept this or don't like this. It is not about whether or not we like it. It is about Him and the work that He is doing in His own creation. God bless.
Last edited by ShanaBrown; 11-16-2014 at 09:17 AM..
Bob when does this occur? would it not be in an age to come?
Therefore as this is speaking of that which is future, IE the age to come, I see it saying that there is an age to come where the Lord will not cast off but have mercy, drawing all unto himself.
He is sitting under the wrath of God at that moment. He was talking about "right now" for himself. He is saying "I am under the wrath of God right now, but I know that this casting off will not be olam, it will have an eventual end because God is merciful".
It's similar to english. "Indefinitely" does not mean "Forever" yet the phrase "God will not cast off indefinitely" does mean "God will not cast off forever". So the word "indefinitely" in certain context can take on a greater meaning.
It means that God cast off forever, who is a reshaim (wicked), a condemned one and the one that repents, God will have compassion and will pardon the sinner and not cast him away forever. Here you come into conflict with the word "olam", when you can use it for your purposes, it suddenly means forever. You can see, that we cannot translate it always as an age, it makes really no sense, the context shows us when it means forever.
I don't claim that olam means "age" or always means "age". I simply observe that there are examples in scripture where olam punishments/ consequences for sin do not last forever. So any claim that they last forever due to the adjective olam has no weight for me. And no, the immediate context does not always show us.
I am not using it for my purposes nor am I in conflict with the word olam. I simply don't see what else it could mean in that context of Lam 3.
Last edited by Thy Kingdom Come; 11-16-2014 at 10:19 AM..
Lam 3:26-38 It is good that one should wait in stillness for the salvation of Yahweh; (27) It is good for a
master that he should bear the yoke in his youth; (28) Let him sit alone and be still when He lifts it up on
him; (29) Let him put his mouth to the soil; perhaps there will be expectation; (30) Let him give his
cheek to his smiter; let him be surfeited with reproach. (31) For Yahweh is not casting off for the eon; (32) Indeed though He afflicts, yet He has compassion according to the abundance of His
benignities; (33) For He does not humiliate from His heart or so afflict the sons of humanity. (34) To
crush beneath His feet all the prisoners of the earth, (35) To turn aside right judgment for a master in
front of the face of the Supreme, (36) To overturn a human in his cause, does not Yahweh see? (37) Who is this who speaks and it comes about if Yahweh does not determine it? (38) Do not both the
evil and the good come forth from the mouth of the Supreme?
God is not casting off for the eon. What is so hard about this? God has spoken and it will come to be because God has determined it that they not be cast off for the eon. Salvation will come to them before the eon ends. He has determined it.
What if it said: God will not cast off for the duration of ten years. Would you not think that He will save them prior to the ten years ending?
The sinners that turn to the Lord and repent, God has mercy and will not cast away for ever. But what you and others say, that the ungodly sinner, who does not repent, will live...
I don't say that or believe that nor do any of us. We believe that all will repent and turn to the Lord will all their heart.
Indefinitely, to me meaning, that I may not see the end in sight. That is not same as "forever" to me, Thy Kingdom Come. Say for example, I may have a problem and I may say that I can't see how this problem is going to be solved. That doesn't mean that I don't know that it will be solved eventually. Just how I understand it.. but I can see what you are saying too. God bless.
But I am not asking what is the difference between the isolated words "indefinitely" and "forever". I realize they are different.
I am asking. What is the difference between saying:
"God will not cast of indefinitely"
"God will not cast of forever"
I am asking for the difference between two phrases, not two words.
There is no difference between those two phrases. They both mean that at some point the casting off will cease.
If we take the first phrase literally according to your definition of "indefinitely" it would be "God will not cast off for [an unspecified period of time]". But that is actually false. The writer was in fact being cast off for an unspecified period of time.
So from this exercise I learn that the word "indefinitely" can take on meaning beyond its basic meaning due to context. And if "indefinitely" can do that then so can olam.
Last edited by Thy Kingdom Come; 11-16-2014 at 10:46 AM..
Hi, Olam referring to time that is hidden, meaning that we cannot see when it begins or ends.
God will not cast off to a point when I cannot see that there is no end. The writer knew that there will be an end to the rejection because He knows that God is compassionate and merciful.
I do not believe that casting off forever is a good translation because olam refers to a time that has a beginning and an end and not to eternity.
I also agree with Eusebius and Pneuma in their statements, that God will not cast off for an eon or age. God bless.
Hi, Olam referring to time that is hidden, meaning that we cannot see when it begins or ends.
God will not cast off to a point when I cannot see that there is no end. The writer knew that there will be an end to the rejection because He knows that God is compassionate and merciful.
I do not believe that casting off forever is a good translation because olam refers to a time that has a beginning and an end and not to eternity.
I also agree with Eusebius and Pneuma in their statements, that God will not cast off for an eon or age. God bless.
Ok I see your point. But I think it's a stretch. The writer did not see when it would end. He just knew it would end at some time. Also there are scriptures which say God will cast off olam.
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God bless.
