Isaiah 46:9 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.
In our world, there are people who will do anything just to know what the future holds because some of them believe that they would be able to make good error proof choices, and sound decisions if they had foreknowledge of what is to come. In the business world we have what is called “Stock futures” which are supposed to give us guidance as to how markets would open on a given day.
The problem is that even though guidance might be given up front the fact is that no one knows for sure how the markets would fare during the day because just last week, the Dow industrials started off pretty well on Friday, but closed down 900 plus points. The same can be said of what may or may not happen in Russia, as the grim war grinds on.
Persons speculate and some may try to predict, but again, no one knows with certainty how and when it will all end and what the final human cost would be. No one knows if nukes will be used, or whether the conflicts would be restricted to only conventional weapons. The fact is that none of us know for sure.
Then, there are other aspects foreknowledge to be considered, for even though we may have it, that is no guarantee that persons would make sound, and wise decisions commensurate with such knowledge. The antediluvians were made privy to the fact that a flood was coming upon the earth, and according to the scriptures, only eight persons found their way into the ark.
So there are pros and cons to having foreknowledge as a clear view of the future would naturally require decisions to be made. Apart from what is revealed in the scriptures, or through various God-ordained prophets, the future is God’s domain because God’s singular ability of Omniscience gives Him fine details of all that will take place.
Not only does God’s omniscience read future events accurately, He is also able to read all historical facts from everlasting to everlasting, so that He is able to use that knowledge to plan and to execute His plans with unerring accuracy. This is one of many factors which go a mighty long way in cementing our faith in God, for we can trust His predictions with utmost confidence.
But, some folk struggle with the fact that God often does things that may seem to question His ability to read the future, and for this reason some folks have erroneously come to the conclusion that God might at times be caught off-guard, or blindsided by a turn of events that He probably did not cater for.
Nothing can be further from the truth, because for everything that takes place, or has taken place, God knows, and knew it all long before it ever occurred. That is what our first passage states unequivocally, for when it says that His counsel will stand, it means that His foreknowledge of events is perfect, and can be depended upon by all concerned.
When the people of Nineveh repented, The God of heaven was not surprised, nor did He have to make any last-minute adjustments to His plans, for in His foreknowledge, He saw their repentance, and that’s the reason why God sent Jonah in the first place, to facilitate what He saw in advance, the people would do. Let’s read:
Jonah 1:1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
2 And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore, I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
10 Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not labored, neither made it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night
11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six-score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
Again, when the storm arose on the lake with the twelve disciples, it was not something that God did not cater for, because it was seen from long ago in His foreknowledge, how the whole ordeal would’ve played out. Not one of those disciples would perish and the boat would never sink, for God had already catered for what we often call sudden occurrences. Let’s read:
Matthew 14: 24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
5 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
27 But straightway Jesus spoke unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
[The Desire Of Ages pp 380>381] Their thoughts were stormy and unreasonable, and the Lord gave them something else to afflict their souls and occupy their minds. God often does this when men create burdens and troubles for themselves.
The Watcher on the shore saw those fear-stricken men battling with the tempest. Not for a moment did He lose sight of His disciples. With deepest solicitude His eyes followed the storm-tossed boat with its precious burden; for these men were to be the light of the world. When their hearts were subdued, their unholy ambition quelled, and in humility they prayed for help, it was given them.
Thus, when it comes to studying the foreknowledge of God there are certain foundational facts that are to be taken into consideration:
[1] Given His accurate knowledge of future events, God never makes a mistake; God never has and He never will.
[2] A clear knowledge of the future moves God to make good, responsible decisions, which He always does.
[3] Knowing the future, as it pertained to the creation of intelligent beings, did not mean that the future would be all good, because foreknowledge has pros and cons.
[4] At the end of the day, everything God does will be shown to make perfect sense.
So, let us take a trip to heaven and ask of The Lord some of the nagging questions in the minds of some folks who erroneously believe that God has made a few mistakes. When God decided to bring angels in to existence, God knew that somewhere down the line one of them would rebel, and cause trouble for the universe.
Therefore, just as it is with us, the knowledge of the future would move God to make good, responsible, and sensible decisions, as to whether or not He will create them.
And thus, one of the nagging questions in the minds of some people is: Why did God choose to go ahead and create Lucifer, if in His foreknowledge God saw that this particular angel would give Him trouble.
Before we move forward, it is important for us to observe the various levels of God’s creation, as we know it. There are inanimate creations like rocks, precious stones, and metals. Then, there are lower level creations of living things like trees, flowers, grass and vegetables, just to name a few.
Then, moving up the ladder, there are other types of living creatures that are made with instinct, such as those in the animal kingdom like dogs, and cats, and some of our other furry friends. Some of these can be taught respond in certain ways, because they are restricted to fixed patterns of behavior.
In·stinct: Noun: An innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior in animals in response to certain stimuli.
Then you have the higher level of creations like you and me and the angels, who have been created with intelligence, and the freedom of choice. Believe it or not it’s us, the last category that gives God the most trouble, yet the freedom of choice and intelligence are good things, when used intelligently.
When God sent Noah to preach to the Antediluvian world, he did so for 120 years, and most of the folk who had intelligence and freedom of choice refused to go into the ark. But when God spoke to the lower life forms of animals, they did the right thing, as can be seen in the ratio of human beings to animals in the ark. Animals obeyed God’s voice while persons with intelligence refused.
Thus, in His foreknowledge, God was going to make a decision whether to move forward with creating beings who could turn on Him, and if He were to do so the question to be answered was, would it be the good, responsible thing to do. In other words would it have made sense to create them after all was said and done?
The very same issue of the pros and cons of having foreknowledge arose when it came time to decide whether or not to make man. Knowing perfectly the future of our race and the terrible decisions, choices and actions some will take, would it be the sensible and responsible thing to do, to go ahead and create us anyway?
In other words, should God’s knowledge of the fact that some of the angels, and of the human family would turn against Him, prevent Him from creating intelligent beings with freedom to choose, or should He limit His creation to inanimate objects and lower lifeforms that operate strictly by instinct.
These are just a few of the haunting questions that boggle the minds of mortals from time to time. The fact is that every angel, and both our fore-parents, Adam and Eve were created perfect, a fact that is to always be brought into the equation. Let’s read:
Ezekiel 28: 14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covers; and I have set thee so: you were upon the holy mountain of God; thou have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 You were perfect in thy ways from the day that thou was created, till iniquity was found in thee.
Genesis 1: 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
31 And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
[Amazing Grace pp 344] There were no corrupt principles in the first Adam, no corrupt propensities or tendencies to evil. Adam was as faultless as the angels before God's throne.
Another fact that must be given due consideration as God made a decision to create intelligent beings is that in His accurate foreknowledge, He saw that the majority of angels would remain loyal, and even with the human family, very many would choose to obey God, which is the wise and intelligent thing to do.
Thus, even though there would be pros and cons in creating us, the fact is that at the end of the day, when the dust has settled, it would be seen that it was a good, wise, intelligent and responsible thing that God did in creating men and angels. Let’s read:
Revelation 12: 3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth.
Revelation 7: 9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.
[Amazing Grace pp 344] It was God's purpose to repopulate heaven with the human family, if they would show themselves obedient to His every word. God made Adam after His own character, pure and upright.
How do you guarantee that intelligent beings with the freedom of choice won’t ever rise up again in rebellion? How can this be accomplished without the use of force, or instinct? The key rests with the intelligence and freedom to choose God made us with., two of the best gifts gave to us.
Nuclear energy can be used for good, if it is used in an intelligent way. It can be used to power cities or nations, but it can also be used to destroy human life. It all depends on the choices made. The same can be said of knives, for we use them to do many things in the kitchen, but they can also be used for diabolical purposes.
The same is true for almost everything that man has invented, from social media platforms, to airplanes, from medicines to automobiles; they all can be used for good or evil by the choices that are made.
Therefore, the questions is: Should the knowledge of the possibility of misuse by some, stop us from inventing these things? If we were to go that route then foreknowledge of the possibility of evil would become the controlling factor in our decision-making and the good that can be accomplished will be tabled as a result.
The same is true of God, for if the foreknowledge of the fall of some men and some angels, caused Him to put creation on hold indefinitely, the very much good that would also result would never come into fruition, and thus, God would become subservient to the knowledge of evil, something that isn’t good at all by any means.
This mode of decision making would consequently put the progress of the universe into reverse gear, and the fear of potential evils would become the controlling factor in every good thing God wanted to do.
Therefore, in order to solve the problem once and for all, God decided to go ahead and create angels and men with intelligence and freedom to choose, so that all who so desired could decide once and for all, if they would choose to willingly obey or rebel.
In this way, when every angel and every person has fully made up their minds, the universe would be made forever secure, because by our own choice, we decided to love and serve God, without being coerced to do so.
And it’s because of this why iniquity will not arise a second time, not because God will forever remove intelligence and choice from us. Let’s read:
[Desire Of Ages pp 759] God could have destroyed Satan and his sympathizers as easily as one can cast a pebble to the earth; but He did not do this.
Rebellion was not to be overcome by force. Compelling power is found only under Satan's government. The Lord's principles are not of this order.
His authority rests upon goodness, mercy, and love; and the presentation of these principles is the means to be used. God's government is moral, and truth and love are to be the prevailing power.
It was God's purpose to place things on an eternal basis of security. And in the councils of heaven, it was decided that time must be given for Satan to develop the principles which were the foundation of his system of government.
This brings us to the most sobering thought of what you and I would use our intelligence and freedom of choice to do? Would we use it to rebel against God, like so many are doing, or would we deliberately choose to love and obey God, because of His mercy and goodness, manifested towards us daily, and in the Person of Jesus Christ who died to set us free?
The choice is ours, and during our probationary time on earth, we are given ample opportunity to choose life or death, good or evil. If we make the intelligent choice to obey God, by accepting Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, that decision will be sealed for eternity in our foreheads where decisions are made.
Conversely, if we choose to throw in our lot with the rebels, God will honor the choice we make, and the consequences that will follow. Therefore, we beseech you to be reconciled to God. Consider His great love, His kindness, His mercies, His goodness, and His Creatorship, and then choose life, for this is the most intelligent thing anyone can choose to do.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which places before all the inhabitants of earth, the stark choices in the matter, and it is our sincere hope and prayer that our decisions in this life will lead to life eternal with Christ. Let’s read:
Deuteronomy 30: 19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore, choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.
20 That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
God Bless!