Paul talks about predestination on several occasions. Many things that were prophesied have come to pass. Does this mean that everything is predetermined?
We find in Scripture that many things are decided before they come to pass. Jesus birth was prophesied, as was His death and resurrection. The Israelites had many prophecies that were fulfilled in their era. We look to the book of Revelation as prophecy that is to come. So what is a Christian to make of all of this? Does this mean that all things are determined? That we have no choice whatsoever?
Let’s first take a look at the type of things that we consider prophecy. The Old Testament shows us much about prophecy. We see that God foretold the destruction of Israel and Judah through prophets. He told them when it would happen, and when the bondage would end. He gave specifics on much of their trials and tribulations. And they all came to pass.
In the New Testament we see much prophecy fulfilled by Jesus as well. We see that He came as prophesied, lived, died, and rose accordingly.
We also see some things that are to come. Future prophecies that have not yet been fulfilled to our understanding. What about those? Are they going to happen without fail? If so, what of free will?
Like most complex questions, this will most likely have complex answers. It’s not as simple as saying that God’s Will is immutable and all is set into motion already. If that was the case, we would not have any choice and all the times God specifically tells His people to choose would be lies. Not only that, but Jesus mourning over the city of Jerusalem would make no sense whatsoever if Jerusalem had no choice in the matter. If we say that all that happens in God’s Will we say that all sin is by God’s choosing. In doing so, we make God worse than the Devil. Sin is choosing to go against God’s Will, and therefore, God Himself cannot do it. Therefore, not all is God’s choice, for if it was His choice it could not be sin, for God cannot choose to sin.
So we can’t just shove it all under the rug of absolute predetermination. That would be far too simple. However, we must see that there are indeed things that God did predetermine. So what’s the difference? Can we know? Do we have all these answers?
The more I study this, the more information I get, but the hard it is for me to come up with an actual conclusion. The easiest thing for me to say would be that God is God and we cannot possibly keep up with Him. While that is true, that does not give us permission to be lazy in our thought and understanding. To not completely understand is one thing, to not try at all is quite another.
Let’s take a look at what types of prophecies God gives us. There are two basic kinds: conditional and unconditional.
Here is an example of a conditional prophecy.
If, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant, 16 I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you a sudden terror, consumption and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away; also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it up. 17 I will set My face against you so that you will be struck down before your enemies; and those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you. 18 If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. 19 I will also break down your pride of power; I will also make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze. 20 Your strength will be spent uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit. -Leviticus 26:15-20
We see that God prophesies that these things will come to pass IF the people disobey. It is a conditional prophecy. More such prophecies can be found like this. For example, here God prophesies what will happen if the do obey Him.
“Then it shall come about, because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with youHis covenant and His lovingkindness which He swore to your forefathers. 13 He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock, in the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you.14 You shall be blessed above all peoples; there will be no male or female barren among you or among your cattle. -Deut 7:12-14
Here is an example of an unconditional prophecy.
"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced…" -Zechariah 12:10
"…Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:" - Luke 24:46
Do you see the difference? Unconditional prophecies, like God’s promise to send a Messiah, are not based on us. They are based on God, who does not change. The are predetermined because God already exists in the future just as well as He exists in the past and present. He is at all places and times in unison. Therefore, He can predict what He will do in the future because He is doing it there. Unconditional promises rest upon God and His unchanging existence.
Conditional prophecies, however, are not absolutes. God lays out parameters for His promise or warning and tells people what He will do if they obey or disobey. These prophesies rely on what we as humans do, and in that way are not absolute. The part that rests with God, e.g. the punishment or reward, is absolute because it relies on Him. In other words, Conditional prophecies only come into effect if we chose to do something first. These are based on what we as humans choose. It is interesting to note how many prophecies are conditional on human choice. This does not mean that God won’t do His part. No. It means that He will not do so until we have chosen. Almost, if not all, unconditional prophesies do not rely on man at all. They rely solely upon God. Since He exists at all times in all places, these prophecies do not undo the free will He has given us. Rather, they are only dependent upon Him, and therefore do not have a bearing upon our freewill. This does not diminish God’s power in the least, instead, it shows that His power transcends the limits of time that we as man cannot escape.
But what of prophecies of people that were yet to come, such as John the Baptist, Judas Iscariot, or Samson? Do they have any choice in the matter? Do these people still have freewill? If so, how? If not, who is to say that we have free will?
We see that people like John the Baptist and Samson were chosen by God before birth. However, between these two we find great differences. John the Baptist and Samson were both chosen by God to lead, both were filled or stirred by the Spirit of God, but Samson chose to follow his own desires and disobey the commands of God. He broke his part of the covenant. As a Nazarene, he was not to touch dead animals, not to drink wine, and never to cut his hair. As long as he was at least partially faithful, God worked through Samson. Once Samson broke the last part of his covenant with God, the Lord departed from him. If you look at the verses in the book of Judges chapters 14-16 we see that Samson's first departure began in his earlier days, yet he ruled as a judge for twenty years before his final breaking of his covenant with God. God was faithful till the end, but Samson broke the covenant. John the Baptist is a stark contrast. It appears that he was faithful though the entire calling.
So what can we take from this? That even with the filling of God's Spirit from a young age, we as people have been given the freewill to deny that Spirit. This is the great and terrible gift from God. No matter how much prophecy there is, God will still allow us to choose, just like Samson and John the Baptist. Does this mean that God is to blame? No, it means that even if we are made to serve Him, we can still choose to not do so. God is still all powerful, but He will not force His will upon us. If He did, we would have no choice in the matter at all. But throughout Scripture we see time and again that God calls us to make a choice, to serve Him or to deny Him. I pray that we may all realize the gravity of this gift and not abuse it.
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