Discuss Ecclesiastes 9 Page 5

Edmund, "The Old Testament Does not have Jesus or Heaven... "? Have you read Isaiah 53 lately, or the Psalms or any of the major or minor prophets? No, the name "Jesus " is not mentioned in the Old Testament but the Son of God, who became Jesus, is everywhere in the Old Testament and so is reference to His kingdom, which is heaven. In the four gospels, Jesus Himself makes reference to so many texts from the Old Testament, many which are prophecies about Himself and there are literally hundreds of text references from the Old Testament in the New. I have frustration with those who say the Old Testament is no longer relevant, when without the Old Testament, we would have no clear understanding of the plan of salvation, no knowledge of our origin, the creation of the world, the fall of Lucifer, the divinity of Jesus or the law that Jesus came to defend with his death on the cross.

Though Ecclesiastes is 1 of my favorite Books. It must be kept in a Mature readers Believers mind that it was written before JESUS......So to point out little inconsistencies is a little hmmmm What are u getting at? The Old Testament Does not have Jesus or Heaven, The New Testament does...u should expect it too be different..Solomon spoke of life..Jesus spoke of The After Life!!!!!

And when I say experience life with GOd. I mean so we can live according to God 's orignal plan when he created Adam and Eve. Those who don 't make it to paradise WILL NOT LIVE. Jude 7 and 2 peter 2 6 makes it pretty clear that everlasting fire is clearly symbolic for destruction. Not to mention all the other times fire was used to destroy. Aka sodom and gomorrah

Mstlpflx If your implying that the dead knowing nothing, does not literally mean that in this case in the way you present it. Then that would mean the the righteous do know things. But there is no distinction made between the good and bad in this case. David himself FELL ASLEEP in death. Acts 13 36. If you think about it, death mean exactly what it implies. DEATH. If the dead are conscious, then they are not dead. The soul that sins dies. It doesn 't get transferred to life sentence prison. It DIES. It will not live anymore. Christ died so that we can live. He didn 't die so we can be transferred from the Paradise in the rich man parable to another paradise. He died so that we can experience life with God.

God wants us to take it as a command and lookout for opportunities, grab them and ,work them to completion.

God is God and allow and does things in His way and time no matter who you or we are .

This race is not for those who want a quick fix, no patience for whatever you are going through but it is for those who would remain faithful, steadfast, and unmovable in the word of God no matter what comes their way.

Skills ability is vanity before God, but in all our business ' we have to put God first. And wait promotion from Him.

I have been studying Jesus,ible for the past two weeks anddemise,red on this page. I am going to agree with the person who stated we are not to ponder on the demise who is gone. I lost my mom last year and if someone else feels like me I made it a habit to speak to my mom daily, but the LORD is my first preference for the day. I will remember from now on you should not pray to the demise, not sure about speaking or telling how much you Miss them? Me as well love Christ Jesus my Heavenly Father!

God 's Sovereign Grace and Government I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill but time and chance happeneth to them all. Ecc. 9 11 The race will not always be won By the swift with the length of their stride Nor battles be his when 'tis done, Who is strong and courageous beside. The wise will not always have food, Nor riches to those of great mind. Your skills may be misunderstood, By others who lag far behind. The giver of all is the Lord, And His is the purpose and will. He will act in accord with His Word And His wisdom and power will fulfil. Matthew J.Cordiner

I have been studying for two years straight using multiple Bibles my conclusion is that the Bible is incomplete due to religious and political pressure and it is perfectly OK to question many things in the Bible and God LOVES us and will help us in the times we need Him most during LIFE as a mortal and after death whatever our state is and after the resurrection which he will give us our glorified bodies beleive it or not God wants us to have as many chances as possible to follow Him read scripture in ANY Bible this is true and it is ultimately up to us if we want to be subject to His awesome rules and laws because He is the Almighty and only wants the best for us Please dispute this if you like but I really don t think anyone in any religion or thought would really want to disagree if they REALLY want to know about God and whatever he has for us other than those who refuse the possibility of anything much wiser outside of themselves I LOVE God and everything about Him knowing that He loves me and I am worth it even though I feel I don t deserve His everlasting love

this text teaches us on the grace of God It s by grace thru faith no one should boast Romans 3 21 31 4 1

Make the most of your time here on earth God designed us to acheive great things and it brings Him honor to see his creation excel True Faith requires works great Faith requires great works Work Hard Stay Pure and Pray Down Miracles

It is God dat knowest wat best 4 us,time nd chance

An unfortunate event can happen to any one of us at any time. It is important to live each day to gain God's approval. Life is a gift from God and in order to make sure that our life is not in vain, we should strive to see what Jehovah God's purpose is for us.

According to God’s Word, while people are alive, they are aware of death. When death occurs, however, they are aware of nothing. In nonexistence there is neither pleasure nor pain, neither joy nor sorrow. Those dead are not aware of the passing of time.

Reply to Potato Alley..

Actually if it says it in the Bible then it is so and true. The dead know nothing. Now those that are dead in Christ will rise again and those that aren't will be forever codemned.

I'm sorry for both yours and Carlyn's loses, because I too have lost loved ones. Just because they don't hear my prayers doesn't mean that the Lord doesn't and sends me a comforter in the form of an Angel.

SO HOW ARE PEOPLE "WALKING" AROUND IN HEAVEN WITH LOVED ONES IF NOTHING IS GOING ON AFTER YOU DIE?

This life is full of ups and downs, happy moments as well as sorrowful times. No one is immune to the stress and troubles of life. However, there is one place one can find succour, comfort and solace - in the home or family, with a loved and loving spouse (and children/siblings). What a tremendous blessing it is to have a happy home! Little wonder then that devil fights marriages leading to countless quarrels, seperations, divorces and broken homes. "Marriage is a unique relationship established by God to fulfill His plan and purpose on earth through man. The marriage institution is established to better the lives of both spouses. The benefits of marriage are best realized when both spouses are committed to it. A breach in the duties and obligations of marriiage by either or both partners, often leads to frustration and disappointment. However, there is the possibility of a joyful, blissful and fulfilling marital life in the midst of all negative experiences arising from different quarters. The basic indispensable ingredients of a satisfying relationship in marriage are acceptance and love on the part of the husband and submission from the wife. A home where there is peace is a home where there is no fault-finding, hardness and bitterness on the side of both husband and wife. Godly communication is the lubricant of marriage and family relationship. There must be a cordial relationship, with a determination to produce a lively and productive togetherness". Our marriages and family life can be a fore-taste of heaven on earth. We can make it work prayerfully and with determination. May the Lord help us in Jesus' name, Amen.

A great encouragement to use our brief time wisely

Ecc 9 verse 11God knows what is to be given to His children @ aright time. Time* & chance* are what tells.

This verse states clearly that the dead are dead. There is no passing on to another life as so many religions teach. There needs to be no fear of the dead because they know nothing. So many people are superstituous when it comes to death and dead people, but taking the time to meditate on this verse can help to free people of those superstitions.

Life gets us all. You can be a righteous or unrighteous person, life`s problems affect us all. God is not giving us our problems, it is satan`s system.

God wants us to know our limitations as humans. Jeremiah 10:23 confirms. It is not for man to direct his steps. We need God att all times. The passage teaches humility.

Seems inconsistent with martyrdom for altruistic purposes as exemplified by Jesus.

Even though his deeds were forgotten, he was not. The maid that led to the deliverance of Naaman in 2 Kings 5:2-3 was not named nor was Naaman's servants that encouraged him to simply obey the prophet's request so that he might be healed of his leprosy. They each appeared in scripture and yes, God knows their names. Use the wisdom that God has given you and don't worry about getting the credit.

This verse is my strength; it speaks to the layman, the poor, the faithless. Wake up and just be active,… time will tell. Things will always happen... positive things.

There is a danger in thinking that the dead lives on .This leads us to pray to them when all our prayers are to be directed to God and God only.The bible says over and over that the dead sleep in their graves.We sleep there until Jesus comes back for us.

This clearly shows what happens when you die. Together with Psalm 146:4. Catholics, Y U believe they continue living, when these texts clearly prove the opposite? Even when the bible says that the righteous will posses the world, and reside upon it forever?
Paradise clearly is on earth.

To some, God made a puzzling statement when He wrote that "time and chance happen to them all" ( Ecclesiastes 9:11). We recently encountered some who believe this means that, sometimes, bad things happen for no real reason. This seems to be a position of too much convenience. This position also avoids the diligent study that could reveal what God wants us to know. It bothers us that this position provides an advantage, without realizing it, to those who believe contradictions exist in the Bible. Bad things certainly happen. But it would be completely out of character for the same God who does not forget not even a sparrow, and who assures us that we are so much more valuable to Him. “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows” ( Luke 12:6-7 ESV). Either we are valuable to God, and all that it entails, or we are not. Yet we are to believe God allows anything to happen without a reason. Think about the implications of something happening without any reason. It means one of two things: either God wasn't paying attention or didn't care. That's like calling the Almighty either incompetent or apathetic. We know that neither is true. Consider the following. God is all-seeing, “The Lord looks down from heaven; He sees all the children of man from where He sits enthroned, He looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, He who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds” ( Psalm 33:13-15 ESV) Either God is all seeing or He is not and we must deal with the implications that that brings. God is never-sleeping. He will not let your foot be moved He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep ( Psalm 121:3-4 ESV). Either God is not awake or He is awake and we must deal with all that that means. God cares deeply about His people. “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” ( Romans 8:38-39 ESV). Either we accept what God’s deep caring for us means or we do not. This potentially harmful position must be examined. So we must examine the alternative—that, while God does not directly cause evil, He knowingly allows it to happen. Because humanity has elected to follow its own way instead of God's, "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which ought not be done. They were filled with all unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are filled with envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness, They are gossips, slanders, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boasters, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless ( Romans 1:28-31 ESV). God has, in essence, taken a step back from the world when it says it doesn't want Him around. He is allowing its inhabitants to see the result of a life without Him. That result is, from a human perspective, time and chance. Let us repeat, for emphasis: It is from a human perspective that God is not in control, not in His sound reality. From our earthly, secular and imperfect way of seeing things, random chance has its way, against the plan of God. It is not holy, spiritual or perfect to hold the position that things happen without reason. Perhaps you know someone battling a life threatening medical problem. First it is not necessary or essential for us to know the mind of God in this unfortunate situation. Second, it remains true that God can and does provide the avenue of prayer for him/her and all of us around him/her to seek the strength this person and those around them need to continue in grace and righteousness without doubting God. Third, we must not attribute to God what we have no evidence He did. When the elderly die not of disease, but simply the body God meant to be temporary finishes it use, according to the time and will of God. Many people say, hopefully in ignorance, “God took Grandmother”. God in reality simply allowed her soul to rest in Abraham’s bosom after the body served its purpose. This assumes that she was faithful – regardless of how loved she was. Being loved by others is no replacement for obeying God’s plan for our salvation. Though God has not lost the ability to restrain Satan and his demons at will, humanity has forfeited God's protection by turning its collective back on Him. As a result, "Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge; but time and chance happen to them all" ( Ecclesiastes 9:11). Another reason, that bad things happen, is the result of humanity's choices; as a result of sin and forsaking God. But none of them happen accidentally or apart from God's will. As it is written in the Psalms, "Behold the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His steadfast love" ( Psalm 33:18 ESV). That is a promise that those who hold that things happen without reason should consider. Everything in life, no matter how minute, occurs for a reason. Nothing, however bad it may seem can justify randomness outside of the will of God. "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it" ( 1 Corinthians 10:13b ESV). "Behold the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it can not save, or His ear dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you so that he does not hear" ( Isaiah 59:1-2 ESV)."And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" ( Romans 8:28 ESV).