Paradise on Earth

[onewithhim]

When I learned that the Bible speaks of a restored Garden of Eden and the restoration of mankind to the perfection and endless life that Adam forfeited, I was thrilled. Who doesn't want to keep living on this beautiful earth, with our loved ones, and being able to do all the things we love to do---endlessly?

If God said to you today, "When do you want to die?" would you say "now!!"? I don't think very many people would say that.

We CAN live forever here on Earth. The Bible tells us that we can.

Matthew 5:5
Psalm 37:9-11,29

[JehovahsWitness]

No, biblically that is not necessarily true.



RELATED POSTS

How can a perfect God "regret"?
viewtopic.php?p=1014669#p1014669

[Miles]

No, biblically that is not necessarily true.

Well, your very own Bible reveals this shortcoming of god: He did make mistakes, He regretted doing at least W, X, Y, and Z.

regret
noun
us /rɪˈɡret/ uk/rɪˈɡret/
B2 a feeling of sadness about something sad or wrong about a mistake that you have made, and a wish that it could have been different and better:
source: Cambridge Dictionary

W .. Genesis 6:6 (NWT)
Jehovah regretted that he had made men on the earth, and his heart was saddened.

X .. 1 Samuel 15:35 (NWT)
35 Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, for Samuel went into mourning for Saul.+ And Jehovah regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.+

Y .. Jeremiah 42:10 (NWT)
10 ‘If you will indeed remain in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you, for I will feel regret* over the calamity I have caused you.

Z .. 2 Samuel 24:16 (NWT)
16 When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, Jehovah felt regret* over the calamity,+ and he said to the angel bringing destruction among the people: “It is enough! Now let your hand drop.”

And all it takes is a couple of instances of godly regret to show that he was not perfect: god made mistakes. Take your pick.


.

[myth-one.com]

And all it takes is a couple of instances of godly regret to show that he was not perfect: god made mistakes. Take your pick.

.

Actually, God always designs things perfectly to fulfill their purpose. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth and placed a host of spiritual bodied angels to rule over the earth. These angels possessed freedom of choice and lived eternally. They were perfect for the job if they followed the commands of God. But some of the angels desired more power and they rebelled against God. God then created man a little lower than the angels and gave them the power to replenish the earth.

Let's look at pick number W:

Genesis 6:6 (NWT)
Jehovah regretted that he had made men on the earth, and his heart was saddened.

Man is Plan "B" in that those men and women who follow God's commandments will be elevated to equality with the angels and replace those angels who rebelled.

But no man had ever followed all of God's commandments until Jesus was born.

While God was saddened that no man had ever passed the test of obedience, it was mankind's mistake -- not God's.

The conclusion of each person's short human life on earth should be to learn that there is a better way to live, God's way. Having learned this lesson, these new spirits being produced for the Kingdom of God, should be less inclined to revolt. That being the case, this system is designed perfectly to provide more everlasting angels who will follow the commands of God.

In neither case, the earthly angels or mankind, did God make a mistake. Each plan was perfectly designed for its purpose.

The angels and humans involved caused God's regret.

One cannot say whether or not Plan "B" is a success or failure until it is over.

[JehovahsWitness]

DOES SORRY ALWAYS MEAN YOU HAVE MADE A MISTAKE?

Even in English "sorry /regret" is not always an admission of error. For example if we say ...

• "I deeply regret to inform you of the death of my beloved husband. " Does that mean you killed him or that the event is painful to you?

• If a friend told you about his recent divorce and you reply "I am sorry to hear that" Does it mean you committed adultery with his wife or are otherwise responsible for the event?

Evidently the words "*I* am sorry" or "He regretted" can mean that someone is profoundly sorry for what happened without their personally having done anything wrong. This is true even when one plays a role in in the drama. Returning to our example, if a man divorces his wife because she committed adultery and killed their children, he may not regret his choice to marry her, or that he had his beautuful children with her... but he may deeply regret that she made such bad choices. Choices that lead him to change his mind (and feelings) about her.


REGRETING PUNISHING

If a Father physically disciplines his son, perhaps by giving a spanking, he may say "This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you son...". What would he mean by that? That he is hurt that his son's bad actions mean he (the father) must now take the following disciplinary measures; the father would have prefered a different outcome. In a similar way "godly regret" is a reference to the pain God feels in having to punish wrongdoing, not of having commited wrongdoing Himself.

NOTE the following scriptures properly explained ...

W .. Genesis 6:6 (NWT)
Jehovah regretted that he had made men on the earth, and his heart was saddened.[ Here Jehovah regretted, that His creation ended so badly because of their bad choices - ]

X .. 1 Samuel 15:35 (NWT)
35 Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, for Samuel went into mourning for Saul.+ And Jehovah regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. [ Here Jehovah regretted, that because of Saul's bad choices, that His (God's) making Saul king ended so badly - ]

Y .. Jeremiah 42:10 (NWT)
10 ‘If you will indeed remain in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you, for I will feel regret* over the calamity I have caused you. [ Here Jehovah regretted that, because of their bad choices , He was going to have to punish the nation he started ]

Z .. 2 Samuel 24:16 (NWT)
16 When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, Jehovah felt regret* over the calamity,+ and he said to the angel bringing destruction among the people: “It is enough! Now let your hand drop.” [ was regretted the punishment that King David had made Him [God] bring upon his people ]]

CONCLUSION Biblically the scriptures never use "sorry" "regret" to mean Jehovah himself committed an error or made a mistake, but rather that He is deeply saddened by the bad choices people make and /or saddened by the punishment He subsequently has to administer.




JW

[JehovahsWitness]

regret
noun
us /rɪˈɡret/ uk/rɪˈɡret/
B2 a feeling of sadness about something sad or wrong about a mistake that you have made, and a wish that it could have been different and better:
source: Cambridge Dictionary

That is a secular not a biblical dictionary. Bible language often differs from the modern day vernacular. GODLY REGRET is different from human regret. See a more appropriate defintion below:

" divine repentance is a response to man's changes of heart , whether for better or worse" - Wenham, J. G. Genesis 1-15. Waco, Texas: Word, 1987, 144.

“God himself is said to repent [na·chamʹ, feel regret]; but this can only be understood of his altering his conduct towards his creatures, either in the bestowing of good or infliction of evil​—which change in the divine conduct is divine repentance is founded on a change in his creatures; and thus, speaking after the manner of men, God is said to repent.” - M’Clintock and Strong’s Cyclopædia 1894, Vol. VIII, p. 1042

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How do bible experts define "divine regret"?
viewtopic.php?p=1116288#p1116288

How can a perfect God "regret"?
viewtopic.php?p=1014669#p1014669

Does being sorry always mean you were responsible for an error?
viewtopic.php?p=1116283#p1116283

Does God "changing his mind" mean that he ' He failed to get it right the first time'?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 44#p895644

Is God SELECTIVE in his use of his powers of foreknowledge?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 14#p848314

How can an OMNISCIENT God not know something?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 98#p894598

To learn more please go to other posts related to...

FREE WILL , SELECTIVE FOREKNOWLEDGE and ... DIVINE REGRET

[Miles]

CONCLUSION Biblically the scriptures never use "sorry" "regret" to mean Jehovah himself committed an error or made a mistake, . . .

It sure does when the subject of the statement is god and the object is . . . . . .

W .. Genesis 6:6 (NWT)
Jehovah regretted that he had made men on the earth, and his heart was saddened.

X .. 1 Samuel 15:35 (NWT)
35 Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, for Samuel went into mourning for Saul.+ And Jehovah regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.+

Y .. Jeremiah 42:10 (NWT)
10 ‘If you will indeed remain in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you, for I [god] will feel regret* over the calamity I have caused you.

Z .. 2 Samuel 24:16 (NWT)
16 When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, Jehovah felt regret* over the calamity [the a pestilence he sent],+ and he said to the angel bringing destruction among the people: “It is enough! Now let your hand drop.”

.

[Miles]

regret
noun
us /rɪˈɡret/ uk/rɪˈɡret/
B2 a feeling of sadness about something sad or wrong about a mistake that you have made, and a wish that it could have been different and better:
source: Cambridge Dictionary

That is a secular not a biblical dictionary. Bible language often differs from the modern day vernacular. GODLY REGRET is different from human regret. See a more appropriate defintion below:

" divine repentance is a response to man's changes of heart , whether for better or worse" - Wenham, J. G. Genesis 1-15. Waco, Texas: Word, 1987, 144.

“God himself is said to repent [na·chamʹ, feel regret]; but this can only be understood of his altering his conduct towards his creatures, either in the bestowing of good or infliction of evil​—which change in the divine conduct is divine repentance is founded on a change in his creatures; and thus, speaking after the manner of men, God is said to repent.” - M’Clintock and Strong’s Cyclopædia 1894, Vol. VIII, p. 1042

If an English word in the Bible doesn't carry a common English meaning then why don't translators who understand these alternate definitions mention such game changing clarifications? Even your own New World Translation doesn't reference such odd explanations. They don't because they're nothing but ludicrous apologetics concocted to save god from a nosebleed, and ignored by Bible publishers because they simply don't buy them, and probably don't care if every once in awhile someone finds out that the king has no clothes, if they, themselves, ever spotted it.

.

[Miles]

.

My notations.

And all it takes is a couple of instances of godly regret to show that he was not perfect: god made mistakes. Take your pick.

.

Actually, God always designs things perfectly to fulfill their purpose.[need supporting book, chapter, and verse] In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth and placed a host of spiritual bodied angels to rule over the earth.[need supporting book, chapter, and verse] These angels possessed freedom of choice and lived eternally.[need book, chapter, and verse] They were perfect for the job if they followed the commands of God.[need book, chapter, and verse] But some of the angels desired more power and they rebelled against God.[need book, chapter, and verse] God then created man a little lower than the angels and gave them the power to replenish the earth.[need book, chapter, and verse]

Let's look at pick number W:

Genesis 6:6 (NWT)
Jehovah regretted that he had made men on the earth, and his heart was saddened.

Man is Plan "B" in that those men and women who follow God's commandments will be elevated to equality with the angels and replace those angels who rebelled. [need book, chapter, and verse]

But no man had ever followed all of God's commandments until Jesus was born.

While God was saddened that no man had ever passed the test of obedience, it was mankind's mistake -- not God's.[need book, chapter, and verse]

The conclusion of each person's short human life on earth should be to learn that there is a better way to live, God's way. [need book, chapter, and verse]Having learned this lesson, these new spirits being produced for the Kingdom of God, should be less inclined to revolt. [need book, chapter, and verse] That being the case, this system is designed perfectly to provide more everlasting angels who will follow the commands of God. [need book, chapter, and verse]

In neither case, the earthly angels or mankind, did God make a mistake. Each plan was perfectly designed for its purpose.[need book, chapter, and verse]

The angels and humans involved caused God's regret.[need book, chapter, and verse]

Thank you.

.

[JehovahsWitness]

regret
noun
us /rɪˈɡret/ uk/rɪˈɡret/
B2 a feeling of sadness about something sad or wrong about a mistake that you have made, and a wish that it could have been different and better:
source: Cambridge Dictionary

That is a secular not a biblical dictionary. Bible language often differs from the modern day vernacular. GODLY REGRET is different from human regret. See a more appropriate defintion below:

" divine repentance is a response to man's changes of heart , whether for better or worse" - Wenham, J. G. Genesis 1-15. Waco, Texas: Word, 1987, 144.

“God himself is said to repent [na·chamʹ, feel regret]; but this can only be understood of his altering his conduct towards his creatures, either in the bestowing of good or infliction of evil​—which change in the divine conduct is divine repentance is founded on a change in his creatures; and thus, speaking after the manner of men, God is said to repent.” - M’Clintock and Strong’s Cyclopædia 1894, Vol. VIII, p. 1042

If an English word in the Bible doesn't carry a common English meaning then why don't translators who understand these alternate definitions mention such game changing clarifications? ..

In the past translators did sometimes choose to make notations in marginal comments in their translations to this end but now bible concordances, dictionaries and bible encyclopedias are abundantly available in both in paper and online form. I quoted two in my answer above.

• I will link you to the New World Translations bible encyclopedia Insight on the Scriptures Volume II page 276-277 that properly defines GODLY REGRET
  https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200003691#h=40

• Various other commentaries (not all of which I agree )
  https://biblehub.com/commentaries/genesis/6-6.htm

[myth-one.com]

[need book, chapter, and verse]

Do people still read books?

Due to budget cuts, the school system in my state eliminated school books back in 2011.