Throughout my Christian life, I have heard several messages about the subject of predestination and free will. Some will preach that predestination is nothing more than two sides of the same coin - we are now on this side of heaven, but when we get there we will understand what God has installed for us even before we were born! Yet others will teach that it is a hundred percent man and a hundred percent God at work. Frankly, it leaves me even more puzzled and confused after all these talks!
But I discover that God has all along revealed the truth to us about predestination and His marvellous plan - it's just that we have not searched the Scriptures enough to comprehend it. Think about this, if all things were predestined by God, then man is not created with a free will to make decisions for himself. If that is so, can man be made accountable for all his actions? That would fly squarely in the face of revealed Scriptures!
Did God predetermine who will obey Him, who will be righteous, and who will be 'lost' or 'saved'? Is God trying to saving all of mankind now - in this time and age? If that is so, as most evangelical Christians believed, then God is 'losing' the battle against Satan! As one-third of mankind has never heard of Jesus Christ. Another one-third who do, believe Him not. And for the other one-third who claimed to know Him, most paid cursory attention to what He taught and commanded as recorded in Scriptures!
Is now the only time to accept or reject Christ, failing which man is doomed for eternity? Evangelists and preachers often use 2 Corinthians 6:2 which is a quotation from Isaiah 49:8 that now is the acceptable time. In truth, the word 'the' in the King James version is nowhere found in the original Greek or Hebrew text. Bible translators had added in the word mistakenly thinking it will add clarity, but instead, the result is confusion. In Isaiah 49:8, God says 'In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee.' If salvation was available only in Paul's time or in Isaiah's time, then all of us are doomed! Clearly, they failed to understand the Plan of God as reveal in God's seven annual Holy Days and the festivities.
However, having said that, it is certainly true that for those who are called now in this age, with the truth of God opened to the minds of their understanding there is no turning back. For those who are called, they must act on it now, for there is no second chance for those who reject God's truth (Hebrews 10:26).
Christ came to save the whole of humanity, not just for a small minority. For it is God's will that none should perish. Do you think the Almighty God will leave the salvation of all mankind to just a small band of sinners saved by grace? I think man is thinking too highly of himself! The answer is an emphatic NO. God will not trust puny men for such an important task, no matter how 'righteous or Godly' they are!
Readers may wonder how to reconcile the truth of God with reality when Satan seem to have the upper hand in the battle for souls. Modern Christianity is subtly depicting God as a sadist who will send man to suffer for all of eternity in the 'pits of hell forever', over which most have no idea who and what is the true God! Nowhere in the whole of the Bible is there a single verse which says that all man must be converted now. The prophecy in Isaiah 2 and Micah 4:1-4 reveals a time in the coming Millennial Age when all nations - Israel and Gentiles - will be taught the truths and laws of God. Only then, when Satan is bound will human nature be reformed and even the animal kingdom will live at peace with one another!
The truth is, God is not calling everybody now. He is only calling a small group of people in every generations who are predestined to become the sons of God. These potential sons of God will be judged in their lifetime through trials and tribulations to have the character, knowledge, attitude and mindset of Christ. God will never allow those who cannot be ruled and submit to His authority in their mortal life to become rulers in His coming kingdom (Luke 19:12-27). They will be given great power and authority that even the angels will have to submit to them (1 Cor 6:2-3)! Only members of the God Spirit Family are qualified to rule and reign with Christ. To enter and inherit this Royal Family of God, they have to die physically and then reborn as eternal spirit God beings (John 3:3-8, see 1 Cor 15). It is God's will for the saints of today to undergo training for great power, authority and responsibility for the salvation of whole humanity during the coming Millennial reign of Christ. Sadly, most theologians and preachers believe that Christians are born again once they accept Christ and all mankind must be saved now or else they are eternally doomed - they are sincerely wrong and miss the Plan of God by a galaxy!
In John 5:28-29 Christ said, ' Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice (last trumpet call) and come forth -those who have done good, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of damnation (Greek: judgment and NOT condemnation)' Similarly, Christ warned of a coming judgment in Matthew 11:21-25 to Chorazin and Bethsaida that it would be more tolerable for Tyre, Sidon and even Sodom on the day of judgment because they would have repented had they witnessed what had been done by Christ! The only way this can happen is when all people from all ages were to be resurrected to physical mortal beings again (Acts 24:15). This will happen in the second resurrection during the Millennila Age when all people who have ever lived (except the sons of God in the first resurrection) will face the Almighty God at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11).
The sheep and goat parable in Matthew 25:31-41 talks about the process Christ carefully works with all those who are called to become sons of God and those who will ultimately end up in the lake of fire! God knows in advance who will have the potential to become members of His Royal Family and those who do not. The Apostle Paul in Romans:8:28-30 describes this process. God foreknew those who have the potential to become His sons. He then predestinate them to be equipped with the right knowledge and revelation of the truth so as to conform to the image of His Son Jesus Christ in character, attitude and mindset. At the right time, He calls them to come on board to be His 'A' team which will ultimately form the supergovernment of God for the whole universe for all eternity! Please note that only that those with the right qualities will qualify (Matthew 22:12-14). They will undergo tests, trials and tribulations to justify their positions in the kingdom of God. By yielding to the work and leading of God's Holy Spirit this is possible while with human effort, this is almost impossible. The last step is to be glorified when the saints are resurrected to become spirit God beings to inherit the kingdom of God. By then Satan will be dethroned and Christ enthroned with all the resurrected saints helping Him to rule and reign (Daniel 7:18,22,27; Rev 3:21)!
The long and short of all these is that God did predestine a small group of people from each generation to become His sons - as only the spirit Royal Family will govern everything, starting with Planet Earth in the Millennial Age and then onto eternity for the whole universe! Does that mean all not predestine to be called will be 'lost'? By no means - they will be given the opportunity to learn of all the truths and ways of God and to accept Christ or reject Him in the Millennial Age. Those who accept Christ for the forgiveness of all their sins will be resurrected into spirit beings as childrren of God. Those who refuse to accept Christ despite being given all the truths and understanding will be annihilated in the lake of fire as if they were never born (Malachi 4:1-3). A merciful God will put them out of their misery. So for the large majority, they are neither lost nor saved. They are not yet being judged. Their time will come as the sure Word of God says so. Meanwhile, only God's true saints are being judged (1 Peter 4:17) to qualify them for high office, power and authority. So make your calling and election sure to enter and inherit the kingdom of God (2 Peter 1:10-11)!
The subject of predestination has nothing to do with being saved or lost. It has everything to do with the calling of God for a small group of people to become the sons of God - the firstfruits of salvation (James 1:18). However, many are being called but they failed to qualify because of distractions and the lure of this world (Matthew 13: 18-24). Only those who ultimately overcome will make the grade!
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