Exactly....DHK... except that I would not suggest that Adam had a "depraved" nature prior to the fall....:wavey:
Yes it means exactly what it says ..."God was not "WILLING" that "ANY" should perish, but that "ALL" should come to repentance...
Simply use the Word of God to explain itself, in I Peter it says:
1Pe 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
we can go back to the longsuffering and waited which I bolded in a sec.
The Same Apostle further clarifies in his second epistle directly refering to this one here:
2Pe 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pe 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
In vs. 5-7 The context is supplied...a direct reference to the flood...
and he concludes with vs. 9: He is not willing to allow any to perish....
So, why was Longsuffering and Waited bolded in these passages? Simple...re-read what occured during the flood. What we find is this:
Gen 5:21 ¶ And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
Gen 5:22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
Gen 5:23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
Gen 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he [was] not; for God took him.
What is the signifigance of "Methuselah"? Enoch was a prophet of God, and a preacher of righteousness...and God took him...the naming of his son was in itself prophetic: Note:
Gen 5:27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
Everyone knows Methuselah was the longest living man in the Bible...How does that refer to God's "longsuffering" and "waiting" (I bolded) in I Peter 3:20?
Consider two things:
1.) What "Methuselah" means (remember his daddy was a prophet)
2.) What Year the Flood occured.
As far as 1.)
Methuselah’s name is made up of the Hebrew words Met, U, and Shelakh, which mean “he shall die,” “and,” and “it shall be sent.” Methuselah’s name was a prophesy in itself of judgment! Now, think about the implications of this. He was a living prophecy, and his death was like a final warning to his sinful generation – a warning to repent and be saved from the judgment, by boarding the ark.
2.)
Methuselah lived 187 years and had a son, Lamech. Lamech in turn had a son named Noah. Lamech was 182 years old when Noah was born. Which means that Methuselah was 369 years old when his grandson Noah was born. Noah was 600 years old when God flooded the world. Add 600 to 369, and you get 969 years. Methuselah, then, died the year of the flood. And, judging by the meaning of his name, he probably did not perish in the flood, but rather died shortly before it.
Now, think about the implications of this. He was a living prophecy, and his death was like a final warning to his sinful generation – a warning to repent and be saved from the judgment, by boarding the ark. The fact that his life was the longest on record (as far as we know) should also suggest God’s mercy – a few more years, a few more chances to repent. For as long as Methuselah lived, the judgment would be held back.
THAT....Icon...is how one reads, interprets and properly exegetes the Scriptures....You may copy and paste your "Catechisms" and the decrees of your determinist over-lords all you want...but that is the BIBLE, clearly and succinctly telling us what it means to say...It has said exactly what it meant and it meant exactly what it said...God waited...God is longsuffering...because he wills that NONE should perish, but that ALL should come to the knowledge of the truth.
Check....Your move....
