I have two questions. My first question; in the book of Genesis God says that He would no longer contend with the spirit of man forever and He says that man’s life would be 12o years. Clearly after He said that man lived past that number, so what did He mean?
My second question; in Acts 1:7 Jesus says, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” I know that Jesus also admonishes us to be able to discern the seasons and even rebukes the pharisees for being able to discern the weather but not the season of His then coming and His return in these last days. Can you help me understand and could you put this in context for me?
1. The facts that men experienced life spans well beyond 120 years for several centuries after God said this, and that Psalm 90:10 gives a different number for man’s average lifespan (70-80 years) tell you that He wasn’t talking about life spans in Genesis 6:3. He was actually giving pre-flood man a 120 year warning of the coming judgment.
2. Remember, in Matt. 24:36, which took place just over 7 weeks before Acts 1:7, Jesus indicated that at that time even He didn’t know the details of His 2nd Coming. Also, when they asked Him if He was going to restore the Kingdom, they were talking about what we would call the Millennium. The secret of the pause between the 69th and 70th weeks of Daniel while the Lord created and then Raptured His church would not be revealed on Earth until 20 years later. The specifics on when this would all come about are still not fully known, but He said we should be able to see signs of its coming as the time drew near.