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Monday, February 18, 2013

God's Foreknowledge


Bible Questions Answered:
“...alright my comment is this, I have several friends who approached me about their church, and they believe we are elected by God to be saved or not. These point out Romans 9, and that it says, definitely election is not based upon what man does. I don't know about this and if you could help me out I'd appreciate it!”
Benito/ Ravenna, Italy

Bible Answer:

Bible Text:
Romans 9:1-33 KJV
1 I say The Truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in The Holy Ghost,
2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
6 Not as though The Word Of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son.
10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth;)
12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
15 For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
18 Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth.
19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth He yet find fault? For who hath resisted His will?
20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?
22 What if God, willing to shew His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
23 And that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory,
24 Even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
25 As He saith also in O'see, I will call them My people, which were not My people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people; there shall they be called the children of The Living God.
27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
28 For He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will The Lord make upon the earth.
29 And as Esaias said before, Except The Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.
30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that Stumbling stone;
33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a Stumbling stone and Rock Of Offence: and whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.

The main issue here of the beloved Apostle, is that not everyone who says he is God's child is indeed God's child.

Matthew 7:21 KJV (Jesus)
Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.

Let us for a moment divert our attention to the attributes of ....

The Character of God.


Omnipotent (God is All Powerful):
(Just a few verses.)

Job 42:1,2 KJV
1 Then Job answered the Lord, and said,
2 I know that thou canst do every thing..."

Psalm 115:3 KJV
But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased.

Isaiah 43:13 KJV
Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let* it?

*Let: Hebrew, Shuwb (Shoob): Hinder.

Matthew 19:26 KJV
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Luke 1:37 KJV
For with God nothing shall be impossible.


Omnipresent (God is Everywhere Existent.):
(Just a few verses.)

Deuteronomy 4:39 KJV

Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord He is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.

Psalm 139:1-12 KJV
1 O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Proverbs 15:3 KJV
The eyes of The Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

Isaiah 66:1 KJV
Thus saith The Lord, The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of My rest?

Jeremiah 23:24 KJV
Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith The Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith The Lord.

Acts 17:27 KJV
That they should seek The Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us:


Omniscient: (God Has Complete Knowledge- Past-Present-Future- Foreknowledge):
(Just a few verses.)

Job 26:6 KJV
Hell is naked before Him, and destruction hath no covering.

Job 31:4 KJV
Doth not He see my ways, and count all my steps?

Job 42:1,2 KJV
1 Then Job answered the Lord, and said,
2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.

Psalm 147:5 KJV
Great is our Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite.

Hebrews 4:13 KJV
Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

I John 3:19,20 KJV
19 And hereby we know that we are of the Truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.
20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

Now just for a moment, we must discuss the character of Satan.

Satan:
(For the sake of brevity, here are his titles, and accompanying verses that so describe him as such.)

Abaddon: Destroying Angel. Revelation 9:11 KJV
Accuser of the brethren. Revelation 12:10 KJV
Adversary I Peter 5:8 KJV
Archer-evil. Ephesians 6:16 KJV (Revelation 6:2)
Apollyon-Destroyer. Revelation 9:10 KJV
Belial-Worthlessness. II Corinthians 6:15 KJV
Beelzebub-Dung god. Matthew 12:24 KJV
Deceiver. II John 1:7 KJV
Devil. Matthew 4:1 KJV
God of this world. II Corinthians 4:4 KJV
Murderer. John 8:44 KJV
Prince of Devils. Matthew 12:24 KJV
Prince of the power of the air. Ephesians 2:2 KJV
Prince of this world. John 14:30 KJV
Ruler of darkness. Ephesians 6:12 KJV
Serpent. Genesis 3:4 KJV
Tempter. Matthew 4:3 KJV
Unclean spirit. Matthew 12:43 KJV
Wicked one. Matthew 13:19 KJV

(If you would like more reading concerning Lucifer: See Isaiah 14:9-20 a duel prophecy concerning the King of Babylon and Lucifer./ and the book of Ezekiel 28:1-19 a duel prophecy concerning the king of Tyre and Lucifer.)

This not being a treatise concerning the prince of darkness, enough said.
These scriptures have been brought forth for realizing the following.

Satan is not, himself, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, or Omniscient!
And because he is “not,” he slanders God, proclaiming to one and all, that God Himself, is not!
He does this, because he is a liar, and the father of “all,” lies!

Dare, there be a Christian today, that believes not, that God is Omniscient?
Dare, there be a Christian today, that believes not, that God is Omniscient?
Where is he?
For he may well believe the Devils lie, that God is not Omniscient, but Christian he is NOT!

Almighty God, with whom we have to do is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient!
May the Word of God forever be true and every man a liar! (Romans 3:4 KJV)

GOD'S FOREKNOWLEDGE:

Isaiah 42:9 KJV
Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Daniel 2:28 KJV
But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;

Matthew 24:36 KJV
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

John 6:64 KJV
But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray Him.

John 13:1,11 KJV
1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that His hour was come that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.
11 For He knew who should betray Him; therefore said He, Ye are not all clean.

John 18:4 KJV
Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon Him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?

John 19:28 KJV
After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.

Acts 3:18 KJV
But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all His prophets, that Christ should suffer, He hath so fulfilled.

Acts 15:18 KJV
Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.

Romans 11:2 KJV
God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew..."

Time out for a Homily. Homilies, are not for intricacy of thought, but general truth.

If you and I were to take a walk out in the garden on a summer day, the sky is over cast, but the day itself is warm and refreshing. We may walk past the garden out to the meadow, and when there, see a bright flash off in the distance. We instinctively know that a storm is in the distance. We count, one one thousand, two one thousands, three one thousands, four one thousands, five one thousands, six one thousands, all the way up to fifteen one thousands, and then BOOM, we hear the pealing thunder. Fifteen seconds from lightning to hearing its thunder. We know that every five seconds equals one mile, and thus the storm is some three miles away.

We go on and walk, talking about our experience and interests, and a few moments later, again a bright flash of lightning, once again, one one thousand, two one thousands...up to ten one thousands, and we look at each other. The storm is now only two miles away, and coming in our direction.

We walk and run quickly as we can to get back to the house, because soon, very soon there will be a storm where we live!


In Romans 9, dear Apostle Paul, you say God by Election choose the destiny of billions of souls, and that it was not by the actual physical workings of men!

Romans 9:11 KJV
(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth;)

Oh, how true this is!
Dare we say it a hundred times, it is true, all so very true!

Almighty God, did Not Need To See “the Actual Physical Workings of earthly men,” to Elect them!
Read this phrase at least 5 times, before moving on....

(All you dear friends of Brother Reine, you write and tell me how faithfully you do these things, you can never know how much this Old pastor loves and prays for you!)

Albert Einstein, once stated, that God doesn't throw dice, to determine things!
And how right he was!

Now here, dear saints of God is what the dear Apostle was saying in Romans chapter 9, “in his own words!”

GOD'S ELECTIONS WERE BASED UPON HIS FOREKNOWLEDGE:

Romans 8:28-30 KJV
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.
29 For whom He did foreknow*, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified.

*Foreknow: Greek-Proginosko (Prog-in-oce-ko): To know beforehand, i.e. foresee, foreknow, know before.

Isaiah 46:9,10 KJV (Isaiah)
9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure:

I Peter 1:1,2 KJV (Peter)
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
2 Elect according to the foreknowledge* of God the Father, through sanctification of The Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

*Foreknowledge: Greek-Prognosis (Prog-no-sis): Forethought, Foreknowledge.

Here is what the Apostle is saying in Romans nine.
Election before works!

---------------------------------
But do not, do not, mistake the fact that just because God did not need to see THE ACTUAL WORKING OF MEN AND THE WORK OF THEIR HANDS, that God did “not,” have any thing else at His disposal, for His ELECTION DECISIONS, because He did!
----------------------------------

And what was that?
It was the perfect, and complete, FOREKNOWLEDGE, of all things, long before they would ever actually happen (i.e. the physical works of men.)

How absolutely without merit, to stand in the grasses, seeing and hearing the approaching storm, and not to take shelter! One would only have to be bereft of all reason, not to run.

God, long before the foundation of the world, saw all creation, (the lighting, long before the thunder -the actual, physical works of mens' hands.).

Friends He saw, you, and He saw me, and He saw what our choices would be!
Read this again!

Homily:

The subject of time, is indeed a hard subject to understand, and harder still the mind of Almighty God!
If we were to think of time as a LP record, and of course you young people have no idea what that is, so you will have to ask your parents.

On that record, is Johann Sebastian Bach's St John's Passion, from opening crescendos to closing finale.
Where we are on this record of time, is where the needle is playing, but that is not to say in God's realm, the end is not seen and known, nor for that fact the very beginning. 

God is not foolish, what an absolute abomination to think so!
Those who think so are “apart of” the Devil's lie that God does not see, that God does not know all!

God does not throw dice! Men are not elected by the whimsical acts of a foolish potentate!
What humiliation is indeed called for, to dare even to suggest such a falsehood, IN LIGHT OF (not mans' teaching but ) THE WORD OF GOD, (which speaks plainly, and amply for itself!

God, eons of ago, saw, and knew with perfect knowledge, the choices of men, and so rewarded by His Election to blessings or Election to destruction!

Oh, how wonderful is the Holy, inerrant Word of God!

II Timothy 3:16,17 KJV
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Be sure to also see the blog posting.....  Predestination

Selah