24/04/2019
The Bible’s Viewpoint
Is Your Future Predestined?
Many people believe that their life and future are predestined by a higher power. They feel that from conception to death, we all follow a script already written in the mind of God. ‘After all,’ they say, ‘God is all-powerful and all-knowing, or omniscient, so surely he must know every detail about the past, the present, and the future.’
WHAT do you think? Does God foreordain our life course and ultimate destiny? In other words, is free will genuine or just an illusion? What does the Bible say?
Total or Selective Foreknowledge?
The Bible leaves us in no doubt as to God’s having foreknowledge. He knows “from the beginning the finale,” says
Isaiah 46:10 . He even used human secretaries to record many prophecies. ( 2 Peter 1:21 ) What is more, those prophecies always come true because God has both the wisdom and the power to fulfill them in every detail. Hence, God can not only foreknow but also foreordain events whenever he chooses to do so. However, does God foreordain the destiny of every human or even the total number who will gain salvation? Not according to the Bible.
The Bible teaches that God is selective when it comes to foreordaining the future. For example, God foretold that “a great crowd” of righteous humans would survive the destruction of the wicked at the end of the present system of things. ( Revelation 7:9, 14 ) Note, though, that God did not give a specific number for that great crowd. The reason? He does not predestinate individuals. God is like the loving father of a large family. He knows that at least some of His children will reciprocate His love, but He does not predetermine the number.
Compare God’s use of foreordination with the way he uses his power. As the Almighty, God has absolute power. ( Psalm 91:1; Isaiah 40:26, 28 ) But does he use his power in an uncontrolled manner? No. For instance, he held back from acting against Babylon, an enemy of ancient Israel, until the time was right.
