Predestination; are fates set in some cases?

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

Cameron143

Well-known member
Mar 1, 2022
20,063
6,874
113
62
Choosing not to remember is different from Choosing not to know, which is what your original post said.

I apologize for the bold print. It was accidental.
Neither can be true of an omniscient being.
 

PennEd

Senior Member
Apr 22, 2013
13,614
9,127
113
That's not a biblical response. One cannot use human reasoning to define God. Allow the scripture to define what we know about God. God has given man time, and has chosen to work within that time he has given.
Ok. I can say exactly what I just said in Biblical responses if ya like:

Isaiah 46:10

New King James Version
10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’


Isaiah 57:15

New King James Version
15 For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
 
N

Niki7

Guest
Before the creation of the universe, God apparently had planned provision for man's misuse of free will and the production of a family of believing sons and daughters, the Son committing Himself to be the atonement for any sins man might commit., and the Father committing to accept whosoever puts their trust in the Son.
1 Pet. 1:19-20 "with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, who was verily foreordained before the foundation of the world..."
Eph 1:4 "according as He has chosen us before the foundation of the world..."

So there was some discussion and planning of two matters (the cross and the church) within the triune Godhead before our changing physical universe was initiated. Conversation requires words to be spoken in a certain order, one AFTER another. A plan requires arranging details in some viable order, this before that, Hence communication and planning takes time, even for the Trinity. That this created world experiences time does not imply that that which is uncreated does not experience time.
Your 2nd paragraph is your own imagination and not found in scripture. Whether true or not, who can say. The danger in this, is that you are trying to state you somehow have this knowledge and we should believe you.

It seems you might believe you are teaching here. I don't engage in speculation as truth, however you can speculate until the world ends.

planning takes time, even for the Trinity.
did they have coffee and cookies at that meeting? smh
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,153
3,697
113
Ok. I can say exactly what I just said in Biblical responses if ya like:

Isaiah 46:10

New King James Version
10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’


Isaiah 57:15

New King James Version
15 For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
What has God declared from the beginning? The end. God has determined the end. We can read all about it in Revelation. To make this say that God has determined who will be saved, is not being true to the scriptures. God has, and is, and always will be...I agree.
 

PaulThomson

Well-known member
Oct 29, 2023
3,505
468
83
I wrote -
Jeremiah 19:5
“They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for
burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:”

Jeremiah 32:35 They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Hinnom to make their
sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech--something I never commanded them, nor had
it ever entered My mind, that they should commit such an abomination
and cause Judah to sin.

Those references are to the commands themselves, not God.
I think you are saying that the texts mean the following -

Jeremiah 19:5 “They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for
burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind [to command or speak it]:”

Jeremiah 32:35 They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Hinnom to make their
sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech--something I never commanded them, nor had
it ever entered My mind [to command it], that they should [by My command] commit such an abomination
and cause Judah to sin.

Am I understanding your argument correctly?
 

Cameron143

Well-known member
Mar 1, 2022
20,063
6,874
113
62
I wrote -
Jeremiah 19:5
“They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for
burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:”

Jeremiah 32:35 They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Hinnom to make their
sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech--something I never commanded them, nor had
it ever entered My mind, that they should commit such an abomination
and cause Judah to sin.



I think you are saying that the texts mean the following -

Jeremiah 19:5 “They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for
burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind [to command or speak it]:”

Jeremiah 32:35 They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Hinnom to make their
sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech--something I never commanded them, nor had
it ever entered My mind [to command it], that they should [by My command] commit such an abomination
and cause Judah to sin.

Am I understanding your argument correctly?
Essentially yes. God is astonished that a people who He has related to and instructed so faithfully would do such things. It's similar to Jeremiah 2:9-13.
 

PaulThomson

Well-known member
Oct 29, 2023
3,505
468
83
God predestines because He foreknows our lives before we live them.. We have the freedom to accept the will of God or to resist the moving of the Holy Spirit and we do decide to do one or the other.. But God foreknows what we will do and from that foreknowledge He can predestines those who will be transformed into the image of Jesus at the resurrection..
Do you agree with the syllogism below?

A: God foreknows who will accept the will of God: and
B: God intended from the beginning to assist to be conformed to the image of Jesus all those who accept His will: therefore
C: We can assert that God has predestined those who accept God's will to be conformed to Jesus' image.
 

Nehemiah6

Senior Member
Jul 18, 2017
26,074
13,778
113
B: God intended from the beginning to assist to be conformed to the image of Jesus all those who accept His will:
Not "to assist" but to actually "TRANSFORM BY DIVINE POWER" each believer.

The body, soul, and spirit will be totally cleansed ad perfected by the power of God and Christ, so that all God's children are as perfect as Christ, and also possess glorious and glorified bodies. This is in fact MIRACULOUS.

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.(1 John 3:1-3)
 

maxwel

Senior Member
Apr 18, 2013
9,526
2,609
113
When did God know that Abraham feared God? According to the passage? "Now I know....seeing that...
I think you misunderstood me; my previous post wasn't a challenge to a debate.
I was merely asking you to clarify your position since it was unclear to me.

I merely wanted to know if you hold the view that God's foreknowledge is limited.



.
 

Inquisitor

Well-known member
Mar 17, 2022
3,388
1,006
113
Do you agree with the syllogism below?

A: God foreknows who will accept the will of God: and
B: God intended from the beginning to assist to be conformed to the image of Jesus all those who accept His will: therefore
C: We can assert that God has predestined those who accept God's will to be conformed to Jesus' image.
What exactly was predestined?

Romans 8:29
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son...

We will be Christlike, we have been predestined for this.

Careful with the usage of 'foreknow'. Paul, I believe was referring to the Jews. Those previously known by God.

Romans 11:1-2
I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? Far from it! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew.

The occurrence of 'foreknew' above is directly declaring that God foreknew the Jews.

See how easy it is to misread a verse.
 

Nehemiah6

Senior Member
Jul 18, 2017
26,074
13,778
113
Careful with the usage of 'foreknow'. Paul, I believe was referring to the Jews. Those previously known by God.
No. That is incorrect. Paul was referring to all believers (the ones He justifies) in one context and to the Jews in another context.
 

Adstar

Senior Member
Jul 24, 2016
7,599
3,619
113
But now after that ye are known of God...sounds like it was a point in time...but now...

Your theology doesn't mesh with scripture. Here's another one. How does the Lord know who are his?

2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

The Lord knows who are his by his seal, the Holy Spirit. How does one receive the seal? By hearing and believing the gospel.

Ephesians 1
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,


These scriptures do not discount the fact that He foreknew them.. That He would seal them. That He foreknew who would believe..


1. One must hear the gospel
Indeed..

2. One must believe the gospel
Amen..

3. One is sealed with the Holy Spirit
Thanks be to God..

4. God knows the one who is sealed
Yes and He has known the ones who are to be sealed from the foundation of the world..
 

Adstar

Senior Member
Jul 24, 2016
7,599
3,619
113
Nothing in scripture indicates that from the foundation of the world God knew by name all individuals who would be saved. God foreknew the Israel of God, the church, the bride which He had planned to form from those who turned to Christ and trusted Him. Nothing in scripture says He knew from the foundation of the world who the individuals in that church would be. Do you have a scripture that does?
(Revelation 13:8) "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."

(Revelation 17:8) "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."
 

Adstar

Senior Member
Jul 24, 2016
7,599
3,619
113
Do you agree with the syllogism below?

A: God foreknows who will accept the will of God: and
Yes..

B: God intended from the beginning to assist to be conformed to the image of Jesus all those who accept His will: therefore
In that God's Holy Spirit works upon people who will be saved AND on people who will be damned.. So God does not FORCE one person to accept His will to be saved and BLOCKS another person from accepting His will.. His Holy Spirit will work on people.. Some will be meek and accept the moving of the Spirit while others will resist the Holy Spirit..

C: We can assert that God has predestined those who accept God's will to be conformed to Jesus' image.
No.. The scriptures only declare that God predestinates some to conform to the image of The LORD Jesus.. It is calvinists to expanded the word of God and add to it that God predestined some to believe and others to reject His will.. If you look at the most famous predestination verse in the Bible it only deals with being conformed to the image of His son..

(Romans 8:29) "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."

No where does God say He predestinated them to believe and accept His will..
 

tylerbones1313

Active member
May 1, 2022
565
156
43
Your 2nd paragraph is your own imagination and not found in scripture. Whether true or not, who can say. The danger in this, is that you are trying to state you somehow have this knowledge and we should believe you.

It seems you might believe you are teaching here. I don't engage in speculation as truth, however you can speculate until the world ends.



did they have coffee and cookies at that meeting? smh
Let us refrain from using terms that are nowhere listed in the Bible like:
Triune, Trinity, Oneness, God the Son, three person or Jesus Only. If anyone can think of others please post them to this message.
 

PaulThomson

Well-known member
Oct 29, 2023
3,505
468
83
John146 said: Let's take a biblical example from the book of Jonah. Did God lie? Did God change his mind?

Jonah 3:
9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
What does this mean? That God did not know in advance they would repent, or that God was ignorant and didn't know and therefore was reactive to what they did?
What they would do had no real existence, since it had not happened yet. Their future behaviour was at most a bunch of probability functions with no real resolution as yet. God knows all that exists and has existed, including any specific plans He has formulated and any probability functions in their unresolved form, That is all a being needs to know to be truly omniscient,

An omnipotent being can predict specific future events and use omnipotence to bring them about to prove His omnipotent power to fulfil His promises. Predicting specific events and bringing them to pass does not logically prove foreknowledge of all future events.

The Jonah text cited means what it says.
And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and [in response] God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
What do you think it means? Why would God repent only after seeing that they turned, if God knew in advance that they would turn? Why would God say He was going to destroy them in three days, if He already knew He was not going to destroy them in three days? Would that theoretical perspective on the nature of God not make Him a liar?
 

PaulThomson

Well-known member
Oct 29, 2023
3,505
468
83
Essentially yes. God is astonished that a people who He has related to and instructed so faithfully would do such things. It's similar to Jeremiah 2:9-13.
Do you believe God knows all the future? I ask because a God who knows all the future being astonished at anything that happens is logically contradictory.
 

tylerbones1313

Active member
May 1, 2022
565
156
43
Do you believe God knows all the future? I ask because a God who knows all the future being astonished at anything that happens is logically contradictory.
God has foreknowledge, meaning that he knows what will happen, but he does not determine what will happen (That is left to the will of man.)
 

PaulThomson

Well-known member
Oct 29, 2023
3,505
468
83
Why did God hate Esau before he was born?
He didn't. He chose Jacob over Esau before either had done anything good or evil. God hated Esau in the time of Malachi God hated Esau's descendants called Esau for persecuting Jacob's descendants called Jacob, unlike Esau the actual brother who in the end accepted Jacob's preeminence.