Yes, we have an appointment with death and we also have an appointment with judgement (for we shall all stand before the Lord to give an account of how we have lived our lives), but God has not appointed (fixed) the time of our death - for to a great extent, that time is up to us, for God respects our free-will. So we are designed to die one day, but we don’t have an pre-ordained time to die.That would be FATALISM which the Bible does not teach.
Now God knows all things, so He knows the end from the beginning, He knows the choices we will make and He knows the ultimate length of our life: “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your Book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (Psalm 139:16). However, God does not infringe our free-will by pre-determining exactly when we will die, but rather He gives us freedom to affect the length of our life through our choices.
Does not Ecclesiastes 3:1,2 say there is a time to die?:
"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted." This is saying there is a right or proper time to die. There is a rhythm to life on earth, there are cycles of life that every living thing goes through. Here the human life-span is compared to a plant from its planting (birth) to its plucking (death).
There is a proper season and time to die, just as there is a proper time to harvest a crop. What is that time? It is when it has reached a full ripe age or maturity. You do not harvest a crop when it has just begun to spring up. You would be harvesting it before its proper time. Likewise the time to die is at a full age, after a fully developed life.
As Job 5:26 says: "You will come to your grave in a full age, as a shock of corn comes in his (proper) season."
The season to die is at a full age. We do not harvest a crop when it is half grown. Mid-life is not your time to die!
There are things you do that shorten and lengthen your life.The Bible is clear that when you die is not all up to God.
Ecclesiastes 7:17: "Be not overly (1) wicked, nor (2) foolish why should you die before your (proper) time (full age)?"
Here we are told two ways we can shorten our time on earth, so that we die before the full life-span God wants us to enjoy.
1. Being wicked. Sin will shorten your life for: “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). If you put your work and effort into sinful lifestyle, you will receive its wages - death. That is: Death will come to you sooner than it should.
Psalm 55:23: "bloody and deceitful men will not live out half their days; but I will trust in You (for a long life)."
Proverbs 13:3: “He who keeps (guards) his mouth (from speaking evil and unbelief) keeps (protects) his life: but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.”
Ephesians 6:2,3 (from Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16): "Honour your father and mother (the first commandment with promise): That it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth." If we dishonour our parents, then it is impossible for it to go well with us and for us to live long on the earth. In other words, our life will be cut short.
Psalm 34:12,13 (also 1Peter 3:9,10): “Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.” Clearly if we fail to keep our tongue from evil, we will disqualify ourselves from seeing the promise fulfilled. Again we see the length of our life depends on our choices.
2. Being Foolish. There are also foolish things that we can do that may not be sinful, but they will also shorten our lives. If we do not eat properly or take care of our body in other ways we will pay a price. If we go out into the cold and wet not properly dressed that is foolish. If we do not listen to the advice of those with more experience and taking unnecessary risks may not necessarily be sinful, but it certainly is foolish,
and foolishness can seriously shorten your life.
But praise God, we can also add years to our life on earth!
Sin and foolishness will take time off your life, but God’s Word in you will add and even multiply days to your life:
Proverbs 3:1,2: "My son, forget not my LAW; but let your heart keep my COMMANDMENTS, for LENGTH OF DAYS, and LONG LIFE and peace, shall they (God's words) ADD to you."God’s Word in us will increase the number of our days.
Proverbs 4:10: "My son, receive My SAYINGS; and
(as a result) the YEARS of your life shall be MANY."
In Deuteronomy 11:18-21. God promises increased quantity and quality of life, if we will put His Word first: “You shall lay up these WORDS of Mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that YOUR DAYS and the days of your children may BE MULTIPLIED in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as the DAYS of HEAVEN on EARTH.” If we keep God’s Word ever before us it will multiply and enrich our days on earth.
Proverbs 9:11: "By Me (Wisdom) your DAYS shall be MULTIPLIED and the YEARS of your life INCREASED" God’s WISDOM is in His WORD, so as we receive the wisdom of His Word into our heart, that wisdom will cause our days to be multiplied and our years to be increased.
If we sow our attention to God’s Word, we will reap God’s (eternal, re-energising) life, both in this life and in eternity, but if we sow to the flesh we shall reap death and destruction:
Galatians 6:7,8: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap eternal life.”
Romans 8:6: “For to be carnally minded is DEATH, but to be spiritually minded is LIFE and PEACE.”
If we will sow your time to the Word of God, then we will surely reap back in your earthly life more time and blessing. If we will give our time to God’s Word, it will give that time back to us multiplied, in a longer life of blessed days!
Matthew 6:33: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things (of this life, including days) will be added unto you (length of life added to us).”
If we are tempted to think: ‘I don’t have time for the Word of God”, we should remember that any time we invest in the Word will be multiplied back to us. But if we live without the Word, our life will be shortened. So if we are wise, the first priority for the use of our time is to put it into the Word.
Proverbs 3:13-18: “Happy is the man who finds WISDOM, and the man who gains understanding (from God’s Word); for her PROCEEDS are better than the PROFITS of silver, and her GAIN than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. LENGTH OF DAYS IS IN HER RIGHT HAND. In her left hand is riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree (source) of LIFE to those who TAKE HOLD of her, and happy are all who RETAIN her.”
As we study God’s Word, we will receive God’s WISDOM imparted into our heart. This wisdom is our most valuable asset, continually giving to us precious proceeds and profits, such as health and long-life. She carries with her LENGTH of DAYS, so when we lay hold of her and keep her close to our heart, we will also receive what she brings with her. Thus when we receive God’s Word into our heart, it will then produce by-products in our life, which include LONG-LIFE.
We will lengthen our life by living right and serving God.
Deuteronomy 25:15: “You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, that your DAYS may be LENGTHENED in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.” If we walk in integrity and righteousness in our treatment of others, our days (life) will be lengthened.
Proverbs 28:16: “A tyrannical ruler lacks judgement, but he who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a LONG LIFE.”
God promises us as He promised Solomon in 1Kings 3:14: "If you walk in My ways, and keep My commandments ... then I will LENGTHEN your DAYS."
Exodus 23:25,26: "You shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of you, ... and the (full) number of your days (your full life-span) I will fulfil."
We have seen many promises of God for long-life, revealing the fact that it is God’s general will for us. However these promises are CONDITIONAL on what we believe and do. Their fulfilment depends on us, therefore the length of our life is not pre-ordained, but we can increase it or decrease it.
This is also revealed in the classic long-life scripture:
Psalm 91:14-16: "Because HE HAS SET HIS LOVE UPON ME, I will deliver him: I will set him on high, for he has known My name. He will call on Me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. WITH LONG LIFE WILL I SATISFY HIM, and show him My salvation."
The promise of long-life is only for the person who sets his love upon God. Literally, this means he clings to God in faith and humble dependance. As he abides under the shadow of the Almighty and clings to God (the Source of Life), so God’s life is imparted to him and God is able to fulfil His promise to him of long-life. Clearly the length of his life depends on his fellowship with God and faith in God. By loving and trusting God, the man in Psalm 91 received a long satisfying life from God, whereas the outcome would have been quite different if he had not lived his life that way.
So we have a choice to either shorten our life or lengthen it: Proverbs 10:27: "The fear of the LORD prolongs days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened."
God gives US the CHOICE of LIFE or DEATH, BLESSING or CURSING, and He wants us to CHOOSE LIFE:
Deuteronomy 30:19,20: “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore CHOOSE LIFE that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may CLING TO HIM, for HE IS YOUR LIFE and the LENGTH of YOUR DAYS.”
Notice LIFE and BLESSING is set over against DEATH and CURSE. LIFE in all its forms (physical and spiritual) is a BLESSING. DEATH in all its forms (physical and spiritual) is the CURSE. God is LIFE, He is our LIFE, so being connected to God brings the blessing of life, but separation from Him results in the curse of death. He wants us to choose life, and the way we choose life is to choose Him for He IS LIFE. The blessing of life that God promises here to those who love Him clearly includes LENGTH of DAYS: “for HE IS YOUR LIFE and the LENGTH of YOUR DAYS”. Therefore LONG-LIFE is a blessing from God, but it is our CHOICE whether to receive it. He is the Source of life, so as we cling to Him, He will add life and length of days to us.
Declare with the Psalmist: "I shall not die, but live (long), and declare the works of the LORD" (Psalm 118:17).
Is the length of our life preordained? In that encounter with Kenneth Hagin, satan misquoted Hebrews 9:27 which says: "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement." This does NOT say there is: "an appointed time to die" as if God has fixed the day of our death and so there is nothing we can do about it. What it actually says is that man has but one life on earth and one death after which he will stand before God to be judged.
Now God knows all things, so He knows the end from the beginning, He knows the choices we will make and He knows the ultimate length of our life: “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your Book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (Psalm 139:16). However, God does not infringe our free-will by pre-determining exactly when we will die, but rather He gives us freedom to affect the length of our life through our choices.
Does not Ecclesiastes 3:1,2 say there is a time to die?:
"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted." This is saying there is a right or proper time to die. There is a rhythm to life on earth, there are cycles of life that every living thing goes through. Here the human life-span is compared to a plant from its planting (birth) to its plucking (death).
There is a proper season and time to die, just as there is a proper time to harvest a crop. What is that time? It is when it has reached a full ripe age or maturity. You do not harvest a crop when it has just begun to spring up. You would be harvesting it before its proper time. Likewise the time to die is at a full age, after a fully developed life.
As Job 5:26 says: "You will come to your grave in a full age, as a shock of corn comes in his (proper) season."
The season to die is at a full age. We do not harvest a crop when it is half grown. Mid-life is not your time to die!
There are things you do that shorten and lengthen your life.The Bible is clear that when you die is not all up to God.
Ecclesiastes 7:17: "Be not overly (1) wicked, nor (2) foolish why should you die before your (proper) time (full age)?"
Here we are told two ways we can shorten our time on earth, so that we die before the full life-span God wants us to enjoy.
1. Being wicked. Sin will shorten your life for: “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). If you put your work and effort into sinful lifestyle, you will receive its wages - death. That is: Death will come to you sooner than it should.
Psalm 55:23: "bloody and deceitful men will not live out half their days; but I will trust in You (for a long life)."
Proverbs 13:3: “He who keeps (guards) his mouth (from speaking evil and unbelief) keeps (protects) his life: but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.”
Ephesians 6:2,3 (from Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16): "Honour your father and mother (the first commandment with promise): That it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth." If we dishonour our parents, then it is impossible for it to go well with us and for us to live long on the earth. In other words, our life will be cut short.
Psalm 34:12,13 (also 1Peter 3:9,10): “Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.” Clearly if we fail to keep our tongue from evil, we will disqualify ourselves from seeing the promise fulfilled. Again we see the length of our life depends on our choices.
2. Being Foolish. There are also foolish things that we can do that may not be sinful, but they will also shorten our lives. If we do not eat properly or take care of our body in other ways we will pay a price. If we go out into the cold and wet not properly dressed that is foolish. If we do not listen to the advice of those with more experience and taking unnecessary risks may not necessarily be sinful, but it certainly is foolish,
and foolishness can seriously shorten your life.
But praise God, we can also add years to our life on earth!
Sin and foolishness will take time off your life, but God’s Word in you will add and even multiply days to your life:
Proverbs 3:1,2: "My son, forget not my LAW; but let your heart keep my COMMANDMENTS, for LENGTH OF DAYS, and LONG LIFE and peace, shall they (God's words) ADD to you."God’s Word in us will increase the number of our days.
Proverbs 4:10: "My son, receive My SAYINGS; and
(as a result) the YEARS of your life shall be MANY."
In Deuteronomy 11:18-21. God promises increased quantity and quality of life, if we will put His Word first: “You shall lay up these WORDS of Mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that YOUR DAYS and the days of your children may BE MULTIPLIED in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as the DAYS of HEAVEN on EARTH.” If we keep God’s Word ever before us it will multiply and enrich our days on earth.
Proverbs 9:11: "By Me (Wisdom) your DAYS shall be MULTIPLIED and the YEARS of your life INCREASED" God’s WISDOM is in His WORD, so as we receive the wisdom of His Word into our heart, that wisdom will cause our days to be multiplied and our years to be increased.
If we sow our attention to God’s Word, we will reap God’s (eternal, re-energising) life, both in this life and in eternity, but if we sow to the flesh we shall reap death and destruction:
Galatians 6:7,8: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap eternal life.”
Romans 8:6: “For to be carnally minded is DEATH, but to be spiritually minded is LIFE and PEACE.”
If we will sow your time to the Word of God, then we will surely reap back in your earthly life more time and blessing. If we will give our time to God’s Word, it will give that time back to us multiplied, in a longer life of blessed days!
Matthew 6:33: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things (of this life, including days) will be added unto you (length of life added to us).”
If we are tempted to think: ‘I don’t have time for the Word of God”, we should remember that any time we invest in the Word will be multiplied back to us. But if we live without the Word, our life will be shortened. So if we are wise, the first priority for the use of our time is to put it into the Word.
Proverbs 3:13-18: “Happy is the man who finds WISDOM, and the man who gains understanding (from God’s Word); for her PROCEEDS are better than the PROFITS of silver, and her GAIN than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. LENGTH OF DAYS IS IN HER RIGHT HAND. In her left hand is riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree (source) of LIFE to those who TAKE HOLD of her, and happy are all who RETAIN her.”
As we study God’s Word, we will receive God’s WISDOM imparted into our heart. This wisdom is our most valuable asset, continually giving to us precious proceeds and profits, such as health and long-life. She carries with her LENGTH of DAYS, so when we lay hold of her and keep her close to our heart, we will also receive what she brings with her. Thus when we receive God’s Word into our heart, it will then produce by-products in our life, which include LONG-LIFE.
We will lengthen our life by living right and serving God.
Deuteronomy 25:15: “You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, that your DAYS may be LENGTHENED in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.” If we walk in integrity and righteousness in our treatment of others, our days (life) will be lengthened.
Proverbs 28:16: “A tyrannical ruler lacks judgement, but he who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a LONG LIFE.”
God promises us as He promised Solomon in 1Kings 3:14: "If you walk in My ways, and keep My commandments ... then I will LENGTHEN your DAYS."
Exodus 23:25,26: "You shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of you, ... and the (full) number of your days (your full life-span) I will fulfil."
We have seen many promises of God for long-life, revealing the fact that it is God’s general will for us. However these promises are CONDITIONAL on what we believe and do. Their fulfilment depends on us, therefore the length of our life is not pre-ordained, but we can increase it or decrease it.
This is also revealed in the classic long-life scripture:
Psalm 91:14-16: "Because HE HAS SET HIS LOVE UPON ME, I will deliver him: I will set him on high, for he has known My name. He will call on Me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. WITH LONG LIFE WILL I SATISFY HIM, and show him My salvation."
The promise of long-life is only for the person who sets his love upon God. Literally, this means he clings to God in faith and humble dependance. As he abides under the shadow of the Almighty and clings to God (the Source of Life), so God’s life is imparted to him and God is able to fulfil His promise to him of long-life. Clearly the length of his life depends on his fellowship with God and faith in God. By loving and trusting God, the man in Psalm 91 received a long satisfying life from God, whereas the outcome would have been quite different if he had not lived his life that way.
So we have a choice to either shorten our life or lengthen it: Proverbs 10:27: "The fear of the LORD prolongs days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened."
God gives US the CHOICE of LIFE or DEATH, BLESSING or CURSING, and He wants us to CHOOSE LIFE:
Deuteronomy 30:19,20: “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore CHOOSE LIFE that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may CLING TO HIM, for HE IS YOUR LIFE and the LENGTH of YOUR DAYS.”
Notice LIFE and BLESSING is set over against DEATH and CURSE. LIFE in all its forms (physical and spiritual) is a BLESSING. DEATH in all its forms (physical and spiritual) is the CURSE. God is LIFE, He is our LIFE, so being connected to God brings the blessing of life, but separation from Him results in the curse of death. He wants us to choose life, and the way we choose life is to choose Him for He IS LIFE. The blessing of life that God promises here to those who love Him clearly includes LENGTH of DAYS: “for HE IS YOUR LIFE and the LENGTH of YOUR DAYS”. Therefore LONG-LIFE is a blessing from God, but it is our CHOICE whether to receive it. He is the Source of life, so as we cling to Him, He will add life and length of days to us.
Declare with the Psalmist: "I shall not die, but live (long), and declare the works of the LORD" (Psalm 118:17).
Is the length of our life preordained? In that encounter with Kenneth Hagin, satan misquoted Hebrews 9:27 which says: "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement." This does NOT say there is: "an appointed time to die" as if God has fixed the day of our death and so there is nothing we can do about it. What it actually says is that man has but one life on earth and one death after which he will stand before God to be judged.
