Can God see into the future?

[Hockeycowboy]

A Bible believer here argued with me that God does not see into the future.

I mentioned how often prophecy had to deal with future events including some reign of an antichrist.

I feel there is plenty of biblical evidence that God can see into the future, if indeed the Bible is true.

What scripture verses do you have for believing one way or the other?

There are quite a few, regarding future events.

However, regarding specific individuals, very very few.

God gave us the ability to make decisions and choose which path to take, so He respects that ability (our free will), by not looking ahead to see what course we take. He has provided guidance, through the Bible (His letter to us), and sees if we'll follow it or not.

An Example of not knowing what we'll do, is seen with Cain....Jehovah basically told him, "If you turn to doing good, I'll reward you. But if not, sin in crouching....."
Does that sound like God knew? No, it doesn't.

Although he may have the ability to see the future, he opts not to use it with individuals, preferring to respect our free will and privacy.

Even with Sodom and Gomorrah, He chose not to know until a later time...when an "outcry" reached His ears, apparently someone's prayer:
**20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

So, what do you think? Did God already know?

 

[Salvador]

There are quite a few, regarding future events.

However, regarding specific individuals, very very few.

God gave us the ability to make decisions and choose which path to take, so He respects that ability (our free will), by not looking ahead to see what course we take. He has provided guidance, through the Bible (His letter to us), and sees if we'll follow it or not.

An Example of not knowing what we'll do, is seen with Cain....Jehovah basically told him, "If you turn to doing good, I'll reward you. But if not, sin in crouching....."
Does that sound like God knew? No, it doesn't.

Although he may have the ability to see the future, he opts not to use it with individuals, preferring to respect our free will and privacy.

Even with Sodom and Gomorrah, He chose not to know until a later time...when an "outcry" reached His ears, apparently someone's prayer:
**20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

So, what do you think? Did God already know?

With the discovered link between space and time, they can no longer be thought of as two seperate things. Instead, space and time are fused together into what now is known as space-time. This fusion of space-time means the difference between past, present and future is only an illusion. Rather than thinking of time as continuous ,it's useful to think of time as a series of snapshots from moment to moment. If we conceptualize each moment or snapshot in our universe lined up one after another, we would see every moment that has ever happened or will ever happen, every location in space as well as each and every moment in time. Events I think of as happening now in various regions of space can be thought of as a now slice. When taking motion into account, I and somebody else could disagree with what exists on the now slice of time. A far away extraterrestrial being and I who are stationary relative to one another will share the same now time slice. When this distant extraterrestrial turns and starts moving away from me, he now would be in a new time slice that would be in the past from my prospective. When this distant extraterrestrial is moving towards me, he would now be in a new time slice that would be in the future from my prospective. Just as how we think of all of space is out there, the past, present, and future is out there now all existing together.

 

[Drew Henefer]

With the discovered link between space and time, they can no longer be thought of as two seperate things. Instead, space and time are fused together into what now is known as space-time. This fusion of space-time means the difference between past, present and future is only an illusion. Rather than thinking of time as continuous ,it's useful to think of time as a series of snapshots from moment to moment. If we conceptualize each moment or snapshot in our universe lined up one after another, we would see every moment that has ever happened or will ever happen, every location in space as well as each and every moment in time. Events I think of as happening now in various regions of space can be thought of as a now slice. When taking motion into account, I and somebody else could disagree with what exists on the now slice of time. A far away extraterrestrial being and I who are stationary relative to one another will share the same now time slice. When this distant extraterrestrial turns and starts moving away from me, he now would be in a new time slice that would be in the past from my prospective. When this distant extraterrestrial is moving towards me, he would now be in a new time slice that would be in the future from my prospective. Just as how we think of all of space is out there, the past, present, and future is out there now all existing together.

We seem to have 3 brains head, stomach, and genitals.....to work with.

 

[Hockeycowboy]

We seem to have 3 brains head, stomach, and gentiles.....to work with.

What do you mean by "gentiles"?

Nevermind, I think I got it.

 

[Epic Beard Man]

To help you guys out on how God can see past, present, and future

Or....

 

[Tazarah]

A Bible believer here argued with me that God does not see into the future.

I mentioned how often prophecy had to deal with future events including some reign of an antichrist.

I feel there is plenty of biblical evidence that God can see into the future, if indeed the Bible is true.

What scripture verses do you have for believing one way or the other?

So... psychics can see into the future, but God cannot...

 

[ChristineM]

It's constantly being measured year after year and its fluctuating . In black space it should speed up. smart guy

In vacuum it is considered constant, through in various mediums, (air, water, sodium etc) light travels more slowly and has recently been stopped entirely.

There has been speculation recently that C is not necessary constant but no proof provided, just conjecture. So far, laser experiments have confirmed the speed of light in vacuum to be constant.

 

[Faithofchristian]

A Bible believer here argued with me that God does not see into the future.

I mentioned how often prophecy had to deal with future events including some reign of an antichrist.

I feel there is plenty of biblical evidence that God can see into the future, if indeed the Bible is true.

What scripture verses do you have for believing one way or the other?

To best answer your question you said,
( I mentioned how often prophecy had to deal with future events including some reign of an antichrist)
God does not see into the future,
God gives future Prophecy and then God guides all things down to the future to see his Prophecy fulfilled.

In the book of Revelation, God given Prophecy in the book of Revelation, then God guides all those Prophecy's all the way down to the future events to have his Prophecy's unfolds, fulfilled.

Let's for say that God does see into the future,
Then God gives Prophecy to what is happening in the future.
So actually what people are saying, That God doesn't know what's happening in the future, unless God first looks into the future to see what is happening. Then God gives Prophecy accordingly to what's happening in the future.

That sure doesn't sound like God knowing all things. If God has to look into the future First, then give Prophecy accordingly to what's happening in the future.

Therefore, for God to be all knowing as people say God is, That would mean, That God wouldn't need to look into the future first to see what's happening First.
God would already know, Without having to look into the future.

If I knew already my car has a flat tire, then I wouldn't have to go look, for I already know. Before having to look.

There are people who will say, God is all knowning.
Therefore why would God need to look into the future to see what's happening, if God already knows all things?


Seeing God is in control of all things, God gives Prophecy, then God guides all things to bring about his Prophecy to be fulfilled.
Let's for say, that you bet on something, and your in control as to how you want your bet to win.
So you guide everything to see your bet win's.
So likewise, God gives Prophecy and then God guide's everything down thru time, to see his Prophecy fulfilled.

That's what's Prophecy is about.
It's not God looking down into the future and then give Prophecy what is going to happen.
But rather, God gives Prophecy to what is to happen in the future, and then as time goes by,
Then God guides all things in accordance to his Prophecy to see his Prophecy fulfilled.
Now the question is, then why would God need to give Prophecy ?

To see, who all is paying attention to his Prophecy.to follow the signs of the Prophecy,
When God gives a Prophecy, God also gives signs to watch for and if people are not paying attention to the signs that God has given in his Prophecy, then that Prophecy will come upon people and they will not even know it, that they are in fulfilling God's Prophecy.

As did Christ Jesus in the books of, Matthew 24 Mark 13 and Luke 21. Christ Jesus given many Prophecy's and signs to watch for as his Prophecy's unfolds.
Even in the book of Revelation, God given many Prophecy's and signs to watch for as his Prophecy's unfolds.
But are people paying attention to those signs?
If not, then people will be caught up in those Prophecy's and not even know it.

This is Why Christ Jesus said, that he will come like a Thief in the night. Because people will not even beware that Prophecy's are being fulfilled before their very Eyes. And people don't even know it.

 

[blü 2]

A Bible believer here argued with me that God does not see into the future.

[His] billing says [he]'s omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and perfect. (If [he]'s only omnipotent, [he] can add the others at any time, regardless.)

If you're omniscient, you know EVERYTHING. No limitations in time.
If you're omnipresent, you're EVERYWHERE. No limitations in time.
If you're perfect, you can perfectly guess ANYTHING you forget or don't know.

And indeed, if you're omnipotent, then NOTHING happens contrary to your will.
And therefore you ALWAYS HAVE ULTIMATE RESPONSIBILITY for EVERYTHING anyone thinks, says or does, as well as everything that occurs in nature.

Which is another way of pointing out that the concept of an OMNI god is theologically silly.

 

[Tazarah]

[His] billing says [he]'s omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and perfect. (If [he]'s only omnipotent, [he] can add the others at any time, regardless.)

If you're omniscient, you know EVERYTHING. No limitations in time.
If you're omnipresent, you're EVERYWHERE. No limitations in time.
If you're perfect, you can perfectly guess ANYTHING you forget or don't know.

And indeed, if you're omnipotent, then NOTHING happens contrary to your will.
And therefore you ALWAYS HAVE ULTIMATE RESPONSIBILITY for EVERYTHING anyone thinks, says or does, as well as everything that occurs in nature.

Exactly. Technically, God created the “future”. Daniel 7:9 refers to him as the “Ancient of Days” — meaning that he is older than time itself.

 

[Faithofchristian]

[His] billing says [he]'s omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and perfect. (If [he]'s only omnipotent, [he] can add the others at any time, regardless.)

If you're omniscient, you know EVERYTHING. No limitations in time.
If you're omnipresent, you're EVERYWHERE. No limitations in time.
If you're perfect, you can perfectly guess ANYTHING you forget or don't know.

And indeed, if you're omnipotent, then NOTHING happens contrary to your will.
And therefore you ALWAYS HAVE ULTIMATE RESPONSIBILITY for EVERYTHING anyone thinks, says or does, as well as everything that occurs in nature.

Which is another way of pointing out that the concept of an OMNI god is theologically silly.

Ok, let's for say that God is ( Omniscient)
All knowing as people say God is.

If God is all knowing, Then why would God need to look into the future first, to see what is happening first?
If God is all knowing, Then God wouldn't need to look into the future to see what is happening first.
God would already be ( Omniscient) knowing all things, What is happening in the future, without having to look First.

 

[Salvador]

To best answer your question you said,
( I mentioned how often prophecy had to deal with future events including some reign of an antichrist)
God does not see into the future,
God gives future Prophecy and then God guides all things down to the future to see his Prophecy fulfilled.

In the book of Revelation, God given Prophecy in the book of Revelation, then God guides all those Prophecy's all the way down to the future events to have his Prophecy's unfolds, fulfilled.

Let's for say that God does see into the future,
Then God gives Prophecy to what is happening in the future.
So actually what people are saying, That God doesn't know what's happening in the future, unless God first looks into the future to see what is happening. Then God gives Prophecy accordingly to what's happening in the future.

That sure doesn't sound like God knowing all things. If God has to look into the future First, then give Prophecy accordingly to what's happening in the future.

Therefore, for God to be all knowing as people say God is, That would mean, That God wouldn't need to look into the future first to see what's happening First.
God would already know, Without having to look into the future.

If I knew already my car has a flat tire, then I wouldn't have to go look, for I already know. Before having to look.

There are people who will say, God is all knowning.
Therefore why would God need to look into the future to see what's happening, if God already knows all things?


Seeing God is in control of all things, God gives Prophecy, then God guides all things to bring about his Prophecy to be fulfilled.
Let's for say, that you bet on something, and your in control as to how you want your bet to win.
So you guide everything to see your bet win's.
So likewise, God gives Prophecy and then God guide's everything down thru time, to see his Prophecy fulfilled.

That's what's Prophecy is about.
It's not God looking down into the future and then give Prophecy what is going to happen.
But rather, God gives Prophecy to what is to happen in the future, and then as time goes by,
Then God guides all things in accordance to his Prophecy to see his Prophecy fulfilled.
Now the question is, then why would God need to give Prophecy ?

To see, who all is paying attention to his Prophecy.to follow the signs of the Prophecy,
When God gives a Prophecy, God also gives signs to watch for and if people are not paying attention to the signs that God has given in his Prophecy, then that Prophecy will come upon people and they will not even know it, that they are in fulfilling God's Prophecy.

As did Christ Jesus in the books of, Matthew 24 Mark 13 and Luke 21. Christ Jesus given many Prophecy's and signs to watch for as his Prophecy's unfolds.
Even in the book of Revelation, God given many Prophecy's and signs to watch for as his Prophecy's unfolds.
But are people paying attention to those signs?
If not, then people will be caught up in those Prophecy's and not even know it.

This is Why Christ Jesus said, that he will come like a Thief in the night. Because people will not even beware that Prophecy's are being fulfilled before their very Eyes. And people don't even know it.

If your God is in control of all things, and he can see/knows the future, then why does not your God change the present for the betterment of the future?

 

[Faithofchristian]

If your God is in control of all things, and he can see the future, then why does not your God change the present for the betterment of the future?

There's your problem, God does not see into the future.
If God is as all knowing as people say God is, Then why would God need to look into the future first.
To see what is happening first ?

To answer your question -->( why does not your God change the present for the betterment of the future?)

Because people like yourself still wouldn't like it, if God did go about trying to change things now, for the betterment of the future.
For your information, God is already trying to change things for betterment for the future.
But people like yourself criticize everything that God does.
Look.at yourself now, criticizing God.

 

[Salvador]

There's your problem, God does not see into the future.
If God is as all knowing as people say God is, Then why would God need to look into the future first.
To see what is happening first ?

To answer your question -->( why does not your God change the present for the betterment of the future?)

Because people like yourself still wouldn't like it, if God did go about trying to change things now, for the betterment of the future.
For your information, God is already trying to change things for betterment for the future.
But people like yourself criticize everything that God does.
Look.at yourself now, criticizing God.

I'm not criticizing, just asking a question, if your God is in control of everything as you claim, then he controls the present as well as the future... right?..So then, for example, why would your God allow an innocent child to get tortured and raped? The logical answer here would be your omniscient and omnipotent God fails to be benevolent.

 

[sealchan]

God is considered omniscient

Yes, but I think that there are Biblical and non-Biblical reasons for wanting to believe that God is not omniscient, only knowledgable enough to have created the Universe.

Within the scope of God's knowledge He can know the future but it would appear that from a human stand-point it may often seem as if He does not. This is true when in the Bible, God gets emotional...in the human experience emotion is often an intense response to an unexpected or unassumed event.

There is also the problem of God's partial responsibility for what happens in His creation...if God is omniscient and hence knows all future outcomes, then He must accept some responsibility for evil. This can be partially mitigated by His having some level of ignorance about the future.

 

[sealchan]

It's constantly being measured year after year and its fluctuating . In black space it should speed up. smart guy

How does the speed of light speed up when time for a wave of light does not pass?

 

[Epic Beard Man]

Yes, but I think that there are Biblical and non-Biblical reasons for wanting to believe that God is not omniscient, only knowledgable enough to have created the Universe.

Within the scope of God's knowledge He can know the future but it would appear that from a human stand-point it may often seem as if He does not. This is true when in the Bible, God gets emotional...in the human experience emotion is often an intense response to an unexpected or unassumed event.

There is also the problem of God's partial responsibility for what happens in His creation...if God is omniscient and hence knows all future outcomes, then He must accept some responsibility for evil. This can be partially mitigated by His having some level of ignorance about the future.

This is why when you dive into the problem of knowledge these types of discussions happen. There are several theories posed by theologians and philosophers regarding whether God may know the likelihood of something happening and what will happen.

Like a clock maker may know the likelihood of the small hand making a full rotation to count 60 seconds but the clock maker does not know when the hand will stop moving if the clock is powered by a battery.

Versus

The clock maker knowing both the likelihood of the small hand making a full rotation, and how much battery power is left. It is up to the clock maker to decide whether to change the battery before it runs out or not. This is where you get into your problem of evil.

 

[Salvador]

To answer your question -->( why does not your God change the present for the betterment of the future?)

Because people like yourself still wouldn't like it, if God did go about trying to change things now, for the betterment of the future.
For your information, God is already trying to change things for betterment for the future.
But people like yourself criticize everything that God does.
Look.at yourself now, criticizing God.

Firstly, I would very much like God, if he were able, to prevent the torture and rape of innocent children. I would certainly do all I could to stop any such atrocity from happening. Secondly, if your God is trying to change things for improving the future of people's lives, then he has seemingly failed in at least some cases; for example, in the case of 6 million murdered Jewish Holocaust victims.

 

[Faithofchristian]

I'm not criticizing, just asking a question, if your God is in control of everything as you claim, then he controls the present as well as the future... right?..So then, for example, why would your God allow an innocent child to get tortured and raped? The logical answer here would be your omniscient and omnipotent God fails to be benevolent.

God doesn't allow any innocent children to get hurt, People Do.

How do you come by God as being Omniscient, there is no where in the bible that makes that claim.
People will say God is Omniscient, but then that's People and not God saying that.

God is in control, only to let things go so far, To see how People will handle things.

God tried to make People do as God wanted, but all People did is complained.

So God step back, and let people go, Now people want to blame God, when it's People who is at fault.

Let's for say, that God did come here and told you this is how it's going to be, like it or not.
Now how would you handle being told without any questions, that's how it's going to be. It's either God's way or the highway.

I can guarantee you People will not like it or handle it. Including yourself.

 

[Epic Beard Man]

Firstly, I would very much like God, if he were able, to prevent the torture and rape of innocent children. I would certainly do all I could to stop any such atrocity from happening. Secondly, if your God is trying to change things for improving the future of people's lives, then he has seemingly failed in at least some cases; for example, in the case of 6 million murdered Jewish Holocaust victims.

Like I told @PopeADope without suffering there is no progress. Without suffering we would not learn different medicines or have not discovered things to cure ailments. Without suffering we wouldn’t have knowledge of the human condition. Without suffering we wouldn’t have rape laws. Why should God intervene for you or me?

What happens to one unfairly may have a ripple effect some years later