quote:Originally posted by davidnmiles:quote:Originally posted by Bill Gray:
But, not a problem. Smarter folks than you have tried to prove the Bible to be in error -- and failed.
Bill, as usual you refuse to comment when you are stymied by sheer brilliance. One of the following is wrong.
Is our planet eternal? "The earth abideth forever," Ecclesiastes 1:4.
Or is it doomed to extinction. "The elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and works that are therein shall be burned up," II Peter 3:10.
Hi David,
Gee, you are calling Max's writings sheer brilliance. Yet, you tell us you are the smartest man in existence -- that no power on earth or in heaven can match you. Are we seeing a wee bit of a schizophrenic pattern here?
I must admit that having a dialogue with both you and Max -- is akin to having a dialogue with the main character in the old Joanne Woodward movie, "The Three Faces of Eve" -- an extremely rare example of split personality disorder. However, I will play your little game for today.
You ask if there is a conflict between:
Ecclesiastes 1:4 (nkjv), "One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever"
and
2 Peter 3:10 (nkjv), "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up."
No, none whatsoever.
First, let's look at what we find in Ecclesiastes. It begins with, "The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem" (Ecclesiastes 1:1). Thus we see that it was written by Solomon; and most attribute it to his later years when he had fallen into bad times spiritually. Even though God had given him the greatest wisdom a man could attain -- he went against the teachings of God and accumulated to himself about 1000 concubines, i.e, wives. And these wives were from virtually every known nation; all cultures and beliefs. God had told the Israelites not to intermarry with pagans -- and, yet, their leader, King Solomon does it big time.
At the time of writing Ecclesiastes, he was not doing very well spiritually -- having allowed his many wives to bring the worship of their pagan gods into the land of Israel.
And, at this stage of his live, he laments, "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity" (Ecclesiastes
1:2).
In the beginning of the book of Ecclesiastes, the writer is lamenting how man turns from God and looks only to his own human desires and needs. In other words, Vanity of vanities, i.e, life without God is like looking into a mirror of life and seeing nothing but one's self. In his fallen, worldly ways -- he is telling is that even though "one generation goes and another comes" -- nothing changes with the man who is only living for his own pleasures and desires. This is a conditions to which our atheist and non-believing Friends should be able to relate. In other words, having an "I" problem -- I want this, I want that, I will do this, I will do that. All "I" -- no God.
But, the writer affirms that, even though he, and man, has fallen -- God's earth will remain forever.
Does 2 Peter 3:10 refute this? No, not at all. God's earth will remain forever. Yet, we do know that it will be refurbished as we are told in Revelation 21. When God brings about the New Heaven and the New Earth -- will He destroy the old earth and start afresh? We cannot say for sure. But, we do know that Jesus Christ tells us, in Revelation 21:5, "Behold, I am making all things new."
Regardless of whether He chooses to put the old world into a smelter, melt it, and use that to create a New Earth -- or whether He will just speak the New Earth into existence, as He did before -- it will still be the world, the earth, continuing to exist, eternally -- only, it will be a world which is totally like the Garden of Eden was in the beginning. "Behold, He is making all things new!" And, the earth and all believers who go into eternity with Him will be there -- and we will be in our new immortal, eternal bodies -- and the New Earth will part of our eternal heavenly existence.
Now, don't you want to be a part of this? Think how much better this will be, rather that eternity with Satan. You, both your personalities, should really think hard about this. Your eternal life is at stake.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill