Where in the Bible does it say God know everything that will happen in the future?

[mesl4]

I know he plans and directs certain things to happen, but does he really know and forsee all things? If so, why did he sound surprised by Adam and Eve’s fall, and the corruption of humans prior to the flood (“God regretted making humans”). It makes it sound like he didn’t know that was going to happen. Maybe it’s like we humans know that we will have kids an they will likely disobey, but we choose to have them anyway. Later when we see awful things they do, we might regret having them because we didn’t think they’d do something THAT bad, or it would be THAT hard…no?

 

[Trishie]

Matthew 24:36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
Acts 1:7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority.”

When reading the Old Testament you need a background understanding that the Jews told their stories, inspired by God, but from a cultural persective, and a language that is different from our own.

Good point about our children. Nothing and no one (but a spouse) can cause us so much heartbreak…but we have them anyway.

 

[diggerdomer]

I know he plans and directs certain things to happen, but does he really know and forsee all things? If so, why did he sound surprised by Adam and Eve’s fall, and the corruption of humans prior to the flood (“God regretted making humans”). It makes it sound like he didn’t know that was going to happen. Maybe it’s like we humans know that we will have kids an they will likely disobey, but we choose to have them anyway. Later when we see awful things they do, we might regret having them because we didn’t think they’d do something THAT bad, or it would be THAT hard…no?

We believe God is all-knowing.

So, for the example you cite, I’d say that what we read is what and how the human authors of Scripture, under God’s inspiration, interpreted the event. That is, I don’t take away from the story that you mention that God was surprised…but rather, that the people’s experience of God was, at the time, to interpret God as being surprised. They are projecting their understanding, in some respects, in what they write about God.

In other words, I don’t think God was surprised, and I don’t think God told Adam and Eve that God was surprised. I think Adam and Eve (or the authors of Scripture) interpreted God’s reaction as being one of surprise, because they could not imagine any other reaction.

Does this make sense? Or help? Or did my htoughts just further muddy the waters?

 

[mesl4]

We believe God is all-knowing.

So, for the example you cite, I’d say that what we read is what and how the human authors of Scripture, under God’s inspiration, interpreted the event. That is, I don’t take away from the story that you mention that God was surprised…but rather, that the people’s experience of God was, at the time, to interpret God as being surprised. They are projecting their understanding, in some respects, in what they write about God.

In other words, I don’t think God was surprised, and I don’t think God told Adam and Eve that God was surprised. I think Adam and Eve (or the authors of Scripture) interpreted God’s reaction as being one of surprise, because they could not imagine any other reaction.

Does this make sense? Or help? Or did my htoughts just further muddy the waters?

This answer makes the most sense to me, but the idea is a bit unsettling because it makes me feel like scripture is less inspired/perfect. That we have to worry about authors putting their own interpretation into into it, rather than it being “God breathed”

 

[diggerdomer]

This answer makes the most sense to me, but the idea is a bit unsettling because it makes me feel like scripture is less inspired/perfect. That we have to worry about authors putting their own interpretation into into it, rather than it being “God breathed”

I didn’t mean to imply that Scripture is not or less inspired, I believe Scripture is inspired (as all Catholics do) but I’m thinking in terms of what the Church teaches e.g. in the Catechism most succinctly in para 105-108.

usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect1chpt2.shtml

Do those para help?

In my mind, we don’t worry about the human imperfections of Scripture because we trust in God, who gave us both Scripture and Tradition.

 

[mesl4]

Matthew 24:36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
Acts 1:7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority.”

.

These are referring to specific events though, like I mentioned, I can see the Bible teaches God ordains/forsees/orchestrates CERTAIN things, but not that he knows every detail about what each person will choose when left to their free will. Like, he made Pharoah harden his heart and that’s why he knew he would keep saying know until his son died, he knows he will defeat Satan and renew all things in the end, etc…

 

[diggerdomer]

These are referring to specific events though, like I mentioned, I can see the Bible teaches God ordains/forsees/orchestrates CERTAIN things, but not that he knows every detail about what each person will choose when left to their free will. Like, he made Pharoah harden his heart and that’s why he knew he would keep saying know until his son died, he knows he will defeat Satan and renew all things in the end, etc…

If you’re looking for a place in the Bible that teaches God is omniscient, it might be hard to give you the proof you might want. Not all Catholic beliefs are derived exclusively and deductively from the Bible.

Did God make Pharaoh harden his heart? I’d offer that another way to interpret that is again through the lens of the original author. They knew God was in control. There were not multiple “gods” competing for allegiance. So…even though Pharaoh didn’t acknowledge God, God was in control. God allowed Pharaoh to exrercise free will. The original authors could have phrased that belief in a number of ways, including saying “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.” The point is they were professing belief in the ONE true God, who was in control, creator, Father, and so on.

 

[Crumpy]

Another problem with a discussion like this is the Watergate mentality that we have, What did God know and when did He know it?

We believe God is incomprehensible to our minds. The writers of scripture used a device called anthropomorphizing, giving God human traits, so that we could begin to comprehend God, for example, as our Father.

But, we should not let that cloud our thinking, or as scripture puts it, we should not put God to the test.

Perhaps you are thinking of the passage in Psalms, where it says that all our days are numbered and all the hairs of our head are counted etc.

 

[mesl4]

If you’re looking for a place in the Bible that teaches God is omniscient, it might be hard to give you the proof you might want. Not all Catholic beliefs are derived exclusively and deductively from the Bible…

Well, from my Protestant background, we do believe all we declare must be taught in the Bible, so I thought some of those Protestants on CAF would come up w/that verse…since I myself couldn’t think of one. So, guess we’ll just continue believing he is, even if not stated explicitly in the Bible…as to not offend Him.

 

[joshua1]

God tells Jeremiah in the 1st chapter of Jeremiah, that before he was formed in the womb, God knew him. Also, God is not entrapped in time. God is Omnipotent, omnipresent, he transcends time. He is all powerful and all knowing. The whole notion of prophecy is mute without a all knowing God revealing it.