It is common to see in Jewish literature the expressions "Our sages say", or "Rabbi so-and-so explained", etc.
While it is interesting to think and imagine what the world and life in general were like in the times of the Talmud and Rabbi such and such, who says that today we must live our lives according to what was said thousands of years ago, without having any idea of the current situation or its vicissitudes?
The answer is very simple: the spiritual level of those rabbis and, in general, of "Our sages," to whom we refer when using the expressions mentioned above, was such that what they said was not limited to the circumstances in which they said what they said, but their words have eternal relevance.
And in reality, the same thing happens with our own words; they have an "eternal" effect, both for the good and for the not-so-good.
So what's the difference between what we say and what they said? We speak of what we see and know, and we express ourselves with absolute authority on matters in which we are skilled. Our sages did the same. The only difference is that they possessed knowledge and experienced the spiritual firsthand. We operate in reverse.