God and Time

[LittleLambofJesus]

I looked at the home page of that site I linked to and the person on that site appears to be a Mormon Researcher......Interesting

Mormonism Researched

 

[Stryder06]

interestingly enough, some accuse God of creating time with the first morning and evening. i tend to see this more as a bigger picture of a divine rythmic pattern wherein we creatures trapped in forward, linear time are given multiple opportunities to experience and see God through time oriented created things.

God speaks of himself as the "I Am." one who stands outside of time and who interacts with his creation from another dimension which is why we have such a hard time grasping and understanding God. it's like people who live in a two dimensional land being introduced to three dimensional objects. the best they could do to describe them would be to use terms like: "i think" "felt like" "looked like" etc;

go cards

But why should we think that God is "outside" of time? He has other created beings, isn't it possible that they have time? Is it possible that God does things at a certain time?

And why should we think that God is in another dimension, instead of just somewhere else that we can't see/get to?

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Ahh.....I found where #5550 is used from the hebrew word #06256

Scripture4all - Greek/Hebrew interlinear Bible software

LXX] Ecccles 3:1 toiv pasin xronov #5550 kai kairov #2540 tw panti pragmati upo ton ouranon

Strong's Number H6256 matches the Hebrew עת (`eth), which occurs 296 times in 258 verses in the Hebrew concordance of the KJV

Ecclesiastes 3:1 For, every thing, there is a season,--and a time/06256 `eth for every pursuit, under the heavens

06256 `eth {ayth} from 05703; TWOT - 1650b; n f
AV - time 257, season 16, when 7, always 4, eveningtide + 06153 2,
misc 10; 296
1) time 1a) time (of an event) 1b) time (usual) 1c) experiences, fortunes 1d) occurrence, occasion

 

[PujolsNonRoidHomerHitter]

But why should we think that God is "outside" of time? He has other created beings, isn't it possible that they have time? Is it possible that God does things at a certain time?

And why should we think that God is in another dimension, instead of just somewhere else that we can't see/get to?

god being outside of time gives him the best possible vantage point into our lives to know the beginning from the ending and everything in between.

and by your own phrasing: "somewhere else that we can't see/get to" would have to be another dimension.

go cards

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

god being outside of time gives him the best possible vantage point into our lives to know the beginning from the ending and everything in between.

and by your own phrasing: "somewhere else that we can't see/get to" would have to be another dimension.

go cards

Guess we will have to be in "the Spirit" to see the other side as John was in Revelation?

Ezekiel 8:3 And He putteth forth a form of a hand and is taking me by a lock of my head, and a spirit she is lifting me between the Land and the Heavens, and she is bringing me Jerusalem-ward in appearance of Elohiym to portal of gate, the inner the one facing north-ward which there a seat of a figure/image of the jealously, the provoking jealously.

Reve 17:3 And he carries me away into a wilderness in spirit, and I saw a Woman sitting on a beast, scarlet, being replete of names of blasphemy having heads, seven, and horns, ten.

 

[Stryder06]

god being outside of time gives him the best possible vantage point into our lives to know the beginning from the ending and everything in between.

and by your own phrasing: "somewhere else that we can't see/get to" would have to be another dimension.

go cards

Perhaps He doesn't need to be outside of time to be able to do that though. And could you explain what you mean by other dimension?

When I say can't see/get to I mean that it's too far away to get to, and that we can't see it simply because our eye sight isn't strong enough and that God has veiled the spiritual world from us.

 

[E.C.]

I did not know that about the watches -- that's interesting.

One of the Screwtape letters talks about time. The instruction from Screwtape to his nephew devil in training is whatever he does, he should keep his 'case' (the person he was supposed to be tempting) from living in the present moment.

It was best to keep him living in the past. If you couldn't accomplish that, you should keep him preoccupied with the future.

But no matter what, find a way from keeping him out of the present moment, for it is the only moment that touches eternity, and the only moment God works in.

Based on that, it would seem CS Lewis viewed our present moment as the intersection between chronos and kairos -- when God's time meets man's time.

Perhaps. I've heard of "The Screwtape Letters", but its somewhere on my mile long "to read" list.

Lewis thinking that what we know as the present being an intersection between chronos and kairos does make sense, but is something that I personally would not dwelve into too much. Unless I was a monk who spent his time in unceasing prayer and was under the guidance of an elder and therefore would be able to not only know God quite well, but also be able to discern such things.

Perhaps the whole "how God works" with regards to time is best left as... a mystery.

I'd like to think that this thread is vastly different from that one as I am not questioning God's origin. I'm questioning whether or not we should say that God is outside of time.

This isn't to put a limit on God, rather I think it would be about considering time differently.

But why should we think that God is "outside" of time? He has other created beings, isn't it possible that they have time? Is it possible that God does things at a certain time?

And why should we think that God is in another dimension, instead of just somewhere else that we can't see/get to?

There was a first century saint, Paul's time, who spent his time in prayer and missionizing. This saint, whose name I can never remember, wrote a book about God. In this book he wrote that we can not even call God "good" because to call God "good" would be to describe Him on a lower, human level. He even went as far as to say we can't even rightly say that God "exists" because to do that would be to put Him on a low, human level of understanding!

I would imagine that if God is outside of the realm of being "good" and "just" and so forth, that He is even outside of time.

And if He was not outside of time, what would that mean?
It would mean that there was a time when God was not. Which would mean there was a time when Christ was not and so on and so forth.

god being outside of time gives him the best possible vantage point into our lives to know the beginning from the ending and everything in between.

Hey, He is the "Alpha and Omega", no? The beginning and the end.

 

[Stryder06]

There was a first century saint, Paul's time, who spent his time in prayer and missionizing. This saint, whose name I can never remember, wrote a book about God. In this book he wrote that we can not even call God "good" because to call God "good" would be to describe Him on a lower, human level. He even went as far as to say we can't even rightly say that God "exists" because to do that would be to put Him on a low, human level of understanding!

I would imagine that if God is outside of the realm of being "good" and "just" and so forth, that He is even outside of time.

And if He was not outside of time, what would that mean?
It would mean that there was a time when God was not. Which would mean there was a time when Christ was not and so on and so forth.

Interesting indeed.

I'm not sure why He would say that we can't call God good though seeing as Christ did. I don't think it's about trying to apply human understanding and lower God down to it. God gave us the power of understanding and reason. He tells us that He is beyond our comprehension, but still allows us to understand Him as much as we can on this side of eternity

 

[E.C.]

Interesting indeed.

I'm not sure why He would say that we can't call God good though seeing as Christ did. I don't think it's about trying to apply human understanding and lower God down to it. God gave us the power of understanding and reason. He tells us that He is beyond our comprehension, but still allows us to understand Him as much as we can on this side of eternity

And if God is beyond mere human comprehension, why then should time effect Him?

 

[PujolsNonRoidHomerHitter]

Perhaps He doesn't need to be outside of time to be able to do that though. And could you explain what you mean by other dimension?

When I say can't see/get to I mean that it's too far away to get to, and that we can't see it simply because our eye sight isn't strong enough and that God has veiled the spiritual world from us.

another dimension would be a sphere it's impossible for us to see unless helped. nothing that physical eyes or even the hubble can pick up. paul saw this dimension in 2 cor. 12.

go cards

 

[Stryder06]

And if God is beyond mere human comprehension, why then should time effect Him?

Who says that it does? I'm just not sure if the idea that God is "outside" of time is accurate. It makes it seem as if He works haphazardly.

 

[Stryder06]

another dimension would be a sphere it's impossible for us to see unless helped. nothing that physical eyes or even the hubble can pick up. paul saw this dimension in 2 cor. 12.

go cards

OK. Well do you think that it would be accurate to say that we live in the same dimension that God does but that sin has simply made it necessary for God to hide all that we would be able to see until sin has been defeated?

 

[nephilimiyr]

I'd like to think that this thread is vastly different from that one as I am not questioning God's origin. I'm questioning whether or not we should say that God is outside of time.

This isn't to put a limit on God, rather I think it would be about considering time differently.

Oh, I see, well for someone seeking a discussion on whether God is outside of time, you certainly did your best at totally ignoring everything I directly said about that.

 

[E.C.]

Who says that it does? I'm just not sure if the idea that God is "outside" of time is accurate. It makes it seem as if He works haphazardly.

You are saying that God is effected by time.

By saying that God being outside of time is not accurate, is saying that God is effected by time.

There is no other way around it.