what do yo think this verse means?

Question

a preacher told me this was wrong and he disagreed with it. this is straight scripture and i would like to know what you think it means

Ecclesiastes, chapter 3

19: For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts; for all is vanity.
20: All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again.
21: Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down to the earth?

Answer 1

It is actually quite simple. The problem is that organized religion has been teaching us nonsense for so long that it is hard to recognizes the truth when we see it.

Everything is a part of God. God is not in the universe God is the universe.

She created the universe from the only thing that She had available, Herself.

You and the most distant star from you in the universe both exist within the idea of God.

This is a difficult concept for most people to comprehend because they have been taught nonsense about God. Like the idea that God lives far away on a cloud called heaven. God is not a raindrop. Raindrops live in clouds Not God. This is foolishness.

Jesus told us that the kingdom of God is within us. This is true because each and every one of us exist as a part of God. We live and move within our loving source. There is no moment or possibility that we can ever be apart from Him.

Forget the silly stories that you have been told about a distant God that lives in the clouds. Look around you. Everything that you see is God. The animals are no less a part of God than anything else. There is no point where God ends and something else begins. This is foolishness spread by those who know nothing of God at all.

Love and blessings.
Don

Answer 2

Basically, I read this to mean that despite man's belief that he is of a higher mammal than the beast (oddly no mention of fowl or fish as I'd not class them with beast nor human, do those creatures simply continue to exist as they are now?), both breathe the same air and both end up within the ground to decompose.

As for the spirit...this passage seems to indicate that not even God knows where the spirit of each will end up...it seems to question whether man is destined to remain on earth, perhaps as another form of being, ie beast...or a beast ascends into the heavens to become an angel perhaps. The passage doesn't state the beast goes down into the earth but onto the earth...subsequently signalling that there very well could be the repeat cycle of life of each spirit.

As with all scriptures, everyone has a different take on them...reading into them what they believe, understand or assume is the correct and right way to interpret each.

This is how I interpret this...however, I do so like this because I am currently wondering about the possibility that we are "recycled", returned to earth or ocean as something that perhaps we feared in life, or as someone who needed lessons learned and had not experienced events in the past that allowed for these lessons to be taught.

Yes, I'm odd...but my life is never boring this way :)

Answer 3

We are being told that we really shouldn't worry about such trivial things as to where are spirit goes.
But it is rather literal. We are created from 'nothing' and our body eventually dies and decomposes back to 'nothing'- such as any of God's other creatures. What is different for humans over beasts is that we have a freedom of choice. If we had no choice, we would be no better than the beasts.
If you are open to learning more, you should check out the Koran (Quran). It offers more clearly the ideas of all prophets and it is a reminder at to what God has told us. --Believing that the Christian and Jewish books have been altered by man throughout history for his own purposes. The Koran does reaffirm what the Bible and Torah are saying. And it says that there have been prophets in every land and that we should accept their teachings as well.

Answer 4

Ecclesiastes 3:20

This statement merely refers to the universal curse pronounced by God on man and all his dominion because of sin. Both men and beasts were made out of the basic elements, the “dust of the ground,” and their bodies return to dust again at death. This principle is expressed scientifically as the law of increasing entropy. See on Genesis 3:17-19.

Ecclesiastes 3:21

“Spirit” is the same word as “breath”; in this sense, both men and beasts have “spirit,” but the breathing apparatus ceases to function at death. “Spirit” may also refer to that aspect of man which communicates with God’s Spirit, and which returns to God at death (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Animals do not have this.

Answer 5

19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

Both men and the beasts have the same fate, because of that men is not better than the beasts. Verse 22 sort of clarifies the preceding verses a bit. Sort of.

Oh and the Jews did believe in life after death.

Answer 6

This is another example of why Context is so Important when reading the bible.

The preacher should have explained this better to you.

Ecclesiastes is a book really best read all the way through.

This book is the philosophical writings of King Solomon he was one of the Wealthiest men in History. The book is about how hopeless life appears to be without GOD. The End of the book points out the only thing worth doing is working for the eternal.

I suggest you get a study bible with Introductions to each book so you understand the context of the book better in the future. Perhaps this preacher should get one to.

Answer 7

I interpret it to mean that people should respect every living organism and that it's ignorant to believe that we are superior just because we can voice that it is true.
19: our fate is tied to deforestation and animal extinction because when those things cease to exist so will we. It's simply vain to think we can exist without an environment that stabilizes and sustains us.
20: Our bodies decay, whether it be man or beast.
21: Only God can say whether or not a creature, man or beast, will pass into heaven. (but they all have souls)

Answer 8

Ecclesiastes, 3:22 has the answer. He's saying that we should just live our lives and stop trying to seek perfection, power, and immortality on Earth. BECAUSE wickedness can be found in the places where those pursuits can be found, no matter how honorable the intentions of those seeking them.

He feels that we should be content with what we were "clearly" designed for instead of always trying to press beyond our natural threshold. Not a very popular theory, but one that is not without it's degree of truth.

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Answer 9

well you know that adam was made from the dust of the earth?

well ALL humans are the same, when you die you return to the dust (you can check that, either look at what is left after a cremation, or, dig up an old coffin, there is dust)

you go to Sheol (or Hadies as it is sometimes called) (the common grave of mankind) so it aint hot there, if anything it's cold and wet, but if you dead you dunner feel it anyhows

Answer 10

The subject is in verse 12.
17= there is a time when God is going to show the wicked for what they are.
18= Men follow material things as if they are worth something.(spiritually)
19,20,21= Don't be materialistic. It is all vanity. You can not take material things with you to Heaven.
22= only your works will make it to Heaven.

Bottom line, be a good person and do good things. That's what counts.