Can God see the future?

Adolfius

I've been out a while, but I remember thinking about this as a teenager and being confused, (my mother told me I must be posessed by demons to think such things and so never offered me an explanation). What do the JWs say about it. Can anyone tell me?

If Jehovah can see into the future, he would've known what a mess he was going to make of creation so he would've decided against it before he even thought of it.

Based on the theory that he went ahead and created everything anyway, that must mean he can't see into the future.

I also seem to remember that god doesn't interfere with man, because we have free will, so all our actions are down to us and in no way "steered" or "influenced" by god.

So how can he make predictions about the future, i.e. the prophecies........specifically Judas betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. If god can't see the future, yet he could say with certainty that one of Jesus most devoted followers would betray him, identify him with a kiss, and be paid exactly 30 pieces of silver, does this mean God interfered and made Judas do this against his will?

Is this why Judas went and committed suicide when he came round from being "possessed" by god, and realising what he had done, simply couldn't live with himself?

So does God see the future or does he force the hand of innocent people to do bad things?

I'm sure this has been discussed before, and I may have the whole story wrong, but it was something I never quite got as a teenager.

Anyone offer me an explanation? Especially how the JWs deal with this question.

Thanks

LtCmd.Lore

Remember Esau...

(Genesis 25:21-23) 21 And Isaac kept on entreating Jehovah especially for his wife, because she was barren; so Jehovah let himself be entreated for him, and Re·bek´ah his wife became pregnant. 22 And the sons within her began to struggle with each other, so that she said: "If this is the way it is, just why am I alive?" With that she went to inquire of Jehovah. 23 And Jehovah proceeded to say to her: "Two nations are in your belly, and two national groups will be separated from your inward parts; and the one national group will be stronger than the other national group, and the older will serve the younger."

Before they were even born, Jehovah predicted that Jacob would inherit the inheritence... And that they would become two different nations.

So Esau really didn't have much of a choice did he? (Maybe he already knew about this and figured he'd trade the inheritance for stew simply because he knew he wasn't gonna get it anyways. )

PLUS that wasn't just an event in those two kids lives that was predicted before they were born. It was the political relationship between two whole nations! So who is the ruler of this world again?

LtCmd.Lore

Adolfius, I promise I'm not stalking you... it's just that you have such interesting topics!

Adolfius

Ha Ha, thanks LtCmd.....I appreciate all your comments on all my questions.

Terry

There "IS" no future. Therefore, you cannot "see" it. What exists is NOW. As now passes it becomes THEN. The "future" is a mental construct and not events which have not ocurred.

History consists of events. Events, for all practical purposes, consist of changes in things over time. The random chaos which is built-in to persons, things and probabilities even out in the long long run statistically; never specifically.

For example. Toss a penny ten times and the 50/50 probability will skew. You'll have more heads than tails or vice-verse. It hardly ever seems to come out even. But, in the loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong run it evens out.

So, statistically the probability is certain. Yet, specifically, hardly ever.

Words will do us in if we don't realize we are most often not using them with exactitude.

Metaphor runs rampant.

The "future" isn't out there somewhere waiting to happen.

MidwichCuckoo

Adolfius - hello ... going a tad off topic (no surprise), but I'm just thinking - how do we know Judas comitted suicide? Were there at least 2 witnesses?

Adolfius

Terry you've confused the hell out of me (if hell exists)

JamesThomas

Questions regarding characters we have chiseled within the dark corners of the mind, can be interesting and gobble up great gobs of attention. A more pertinent question than "Can God see the future?", may be: Can we see the present?

I apologize, Adolfius, if i went off your topic, or seemed to discount your question. Your question is interesting.

j

sir82

Either there is "free will" or God can see into the future - one or the other. You can't have both.

If God can "see into the future", "the future" is already written - inescapable. Whatever God would see whenever he chose to look into the future, that would be what would have to take place.

On the other hand, if we have free will, then there is no "future" to see. It is still undetermined.

If there is only one possible "the future", then God can see it and we don't have free will.

If there is true free will, then I (and billions of other humans) can do anything we please, resulting in googols of different potential future states. The moment that God says "this is the one future that will be", pfft! there goes free will.

Clam

What if God can see into the future but chooses not to as it compromises free will? . . . Although sometimes he does have a crafty look.

Terry looks like Martin Sheen from over here in the UK.

Can God see the future?

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