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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
This is a two-part question. The first part is "Did God know Satan would rebel?" We know from Scripture that God is omniscient, which literally means "all-knowing." Job 37:16; Psalm 139:2-4, 147:5;...
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Casper Mcconnell
When parents make babies they know and hope their child will be a person who, like themselves, are going to be amazing and able to think, act and feel as a finite-personal being. Just like God thinks, acts, and feels as an infinite-personal being. Would you rather we made babies who could not make real choices in life, and not (of their own free will) love us? Thats why He made us free to rebel and want to do things our way, if not His way. Thats why God planted the Tree of the Knowledge of Good or Evil. What's so wrong with giving Adam the chance to know right from wrong, then? Before the Fall, all they knew was what pleased the God in whose Love they walked blissfully happy and fulfilled. They just knew without asking what would hurt their loving Maker or bring harm to the environment they cherished. What would be their purpose in wanting to have their own ideas on what was good, it would mean telling God that we know better than Him. God also made angels. They are finite-personal beings, and look what happened to God's angel Lucifer. No tree of knowledge to tempt him. Yet this talented musician started using the "I will do this my way" and was thrown down to desolation without redemption. So when God made man, He has a cunning plan this time. Anticipate the desire to do it our way. Put a tree of conscience before them as a reminder that they could walk away from the presence any time they liked. And amazingly for a righteous God, He had a way planned to allow us to return. The angel Lucifer and his followers have not been given that choice.
Glen Jeffers
I do believe that the only conclusion was that God knew Adam and Eve were going to disobey as soon as He gave them a command i.e. "Do not eat." and it was his plan. The answer starts in the Garden of Eden where God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make a helper comparable to him." The key is comparable and what God purpose was. The answer is Father's desire was His Son to have a bride comparable to Him and that "being" had to be comparable to God. So, from the very beginning Father's main focus is a bride comparable to Him but he must also redeem the creation that in His plan was sent to it's death. First redemption of all creation: God knew Adam and Eve would fall so Christ was crucified at the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8), in the end The Messiah would crush Satan's head (Genesis 3:15) and destroy Satan's works (I John 3:8) which he accomplished on the cross having gotten the keys to hell and death back from Satan (Revelation 1:18) and thus Chris's job is finished (John 19:30). Everyone is saved by the blood of Jesus (Isaiah 53:3, John 12:47, I John 2:2, I Cor 15:22). He saved us while we were His enemies when Christ reconciled us (Rom 5:10). Paul describes those who are saved by Christ thus - Romans 3:9-18). Again, Father's main focus is the righteous beloved bride for Jesus. That is why Jesus said he does not pray for the world (He saved it) but He did pray for the righteous remnant or beloved bride (John 17:6-10). The righteous remnant bride is the ones that the Father is drawing to Jesus and personally teaching (John 6:44-45) and they are feeding on His body and blood (John 6:27-68). This remnant bride was being assembled from the beginning, since Adams fall. These are those who are born of God (John 1:12-13) or born-again (John 3:1-8). Yes born-again in the OT. Jesus would not have rebuked OT Pharisee, Nicodemus, for not understanding and teaching this (John 3:10) if it was a NT truth only. Think about it, If no body in the OT was born-again then none of them can see the kingdom of God John 3:3) and none of them can enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5). Abraham and many other saints of faith saw heaven and will enter heaven (Hebrews 11:1, 6, 8-10, 13-16, 39-40). God's plan was to have a faithful and obedient bride (Exodus 19:5). Oh, what a plan it is to have a glorious special treasure of people who follow Him faithFULLY. (Luke 9:23-24, John 10:27). The glory of God's mercy is not that "some will be saved." The glory is that all will be saved by Christ and dwell on the new earth and out of that all a faithful few who are born-again, abundantly fruitful and fulfill Father's will for their lives will go to heaven (Matthew 7:13-29, Eph 2:8-10). Good trees bearing good fruit and doing the will of their Father in heaven (free from the law i.e. the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) and feeding on the tree of life (John 6:27-68, Matthew 4:3-4), which happened in the OT also (Deut 8:1-3, 10:16, 30:6). In the end the last enemy to be destroyed is death itself (I Cor 15:26). God created the world to be inhabited (Isaiah 45:18) by all the people who did NOT believe (John 12:47) but now they will bow their knee and take an oath to serve Him (Isaiah 45:22-25). A glorious new heaven and new earth with every one of our family members redeemed. That is a true redeemed that does not just redeem some. That is why we do grieve like the world who have no hope about those who have fallen asleep (I Thes 4:1-5:23).
Helena Jones
Paul speaks about a new people. He states that God made a new people by conjoining Jew and Gentile into one. To answer why didn't God simply make a new people. God doesn't do things in a manner of man's reason and logic, but his own. His thoughts are above man's thoughts, just as his strategy's in doing things are above man's.
Thomas K M
The Bible is not an encyclopedia or Google search engine to find out all the answers of our human history. Our finite human mind cannot comprehend what God’s plans are. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts; neither are your ways my ways declares the Lord." (Is.55:8,9) We are all finite, limited beings living in a sin-cursed universe. There may be times when our thoughts are like God’s thoughts. After all, believers are to “be imitators of God” (Ephesians 5:1), and both men and women were created in the image of God. Nevertheless, we need to realize that God is infinitely intelligent, thus His thoughts are infinitely higher than our thoughts. Human thoughts have a beginning, yet God is the Beginning and End (Revelation 1:8). We have little plans to suit our little foresight and power. His ways are unsearchable. His designs are vast and far-reaching and His methods are frequently strange and inscrutable.
Ocie Taylor
As an omniscient and sovereign Creator, God sees the end of a thing from the beginning. He knew of Satan's fall and the fall of mankind before he set any of this into motion. He knew that there would be some who see paradise while others would see eternal destruction and separation from Him. So knowing that, God had a few options: 1). Not create anything at all because he knows that it's going to go wrong. There will be rebellion and death and not everyone will enter into paradise. 2). He could have made all of us (including Lucifer) robots who worship and praise him without question. But if he takes the second option, is the love we express for him genuine or are we only wind-up dolls following what we are programmed to do? If I have to put a gun to your head to make you say you love me, is that love real or fake? I think one of the hardest things for people to accept is the sovereignty of God. He is totally independent and answerable to no one. He is absolutely autonomous. Some people seem to have this notion that God is here to answer all of our prayers and be our genie in a bottle when that's not the case at all. This is HIS show and we are players in it. He isn't answerable to us, our opinions, or how we think things should or shouldn't be. In, fact, it's not even ABOUT US, but instead it's about the love the Father has for the Son, and us being the gift of love to the Son: a people who love and worship Him simply for who He is. Everything was created through him, by him, and FOR HIM and if God (as sovereign creator) has to scoop through the eons and billions upon billions of people to gather up those who truly love and worship Him to present as a gift to the Son, then He has that right as a sovereign deity to do so. The Bible says that "Your names were written in the lamb's book of life BEFORE the creation of the world". God already knows (and knew beforehand) who would (or will) be part of eternal paradise.
Lena Wms
Wow! So many wonderful answers to this question, but I just wanted to add my perspective. If we look at the name Jehovah in Hebrew, יהןה we see the definition is the Self-revealing One. Since we know from Rev 13:8 that the Lamb of God was Slain from the foundation of the world, God had a Redemption Plan worked out before He and His Son created anything. (Remembering of course, all things were created by Him, (Jesus) and without Him was not anything made that was made. Eph 3:9, Col 1:16, Rev 4:11) So, if God wanted to reveal that He was Merciful, Gracious, Kind, Just, Long-suffering, Good, and all the things God is... How would He do this? Give free will. Just like others have said before. Yet the reason I believe, is God wanted to reveal to creatures Who He is! Jehovah the Self-revealing One Who reveals to us Who He really is... Merciful Just Judge Kind Long-suffering Abundant in Goodness Abundant in Truth Forgiver of Iniquity Forgiver of Sins Forgiver of Trespasses The Lord God The I AM Worthy of all praise and adoration as we humbly submit to Him and return His wonderful gift of free will. Be Blessed Lena
Billy P Eldred
I personally believe that just because God has the ability to see all things including the future, that does not mean that he chooses to. When the Israelites rebelled for instance, the Bible reads to me that God was reacting (in anger in some instances) to the present as when he sent plagues, etc. And many were being killed, but then He, God, listened to Moses pleading and His anger passed and He caused the attacks to cease. If He had known that they would rebel then that He would punish them then that Moses would intercede and then He would relent and forgive them, the temporary anger makes no sense. (I know God's ways are above our ways and He is God and I am not) The same would apply to the story of God's conversation with Satan regarding Job. And His conversation with Job afterward. The Bible just reads to me that God purposely created us with a free will so we could choose Him or not and even though He could peek ahead, He mostly waits to see what we will do. He has always had a plan and intercedes as necessary to make sure His plan is accomplished but other than that He let's things happen as they will. Again, I fully realize that He has looked at many things in the future and has the ability to see every minute of it but I just don't get that he controls or even knows everything that will happen not because He can't but because He chooses not to. Otherwise, kinda what's the point? As an addendum to my answer (it was some time ago) I realized I may have been answering more the question “Does God always know how we will respond to a given situation?” I answered as my limited understanding permitted and that answer hasn’t changed. I want to add a more specific answer to this question. (If allowed) Have you ever thought about the age old question “What do you give someone who has everything? God’s purpose, I believe, in creating us is to give us the opportunity to please Him by choosing Him and His way and because we recognize Who He is to Love Him in return for His Love and provision for us. What do we give someone who already has everything? Our free will decision to Love Him by obeying and choosing Him!
Nils Jansma
Why did God create Satan knowing he would rebel? In my opinion, it has already been established in previous answers that God did actually know Satan would rebel. However, Satan didn’t know he personally would rebel nor did all the Angels that chose to follow him. (Revelation 12:4) With regard to why God created free-will life, it is because He loves to share His life with others in His image. So, the more in depth question related to “why”, is how does He do that successfully? With Adam and Eve, God chose to test their obedience by placing limitations on their behavior. This same approach was apparently used with respects all the heavenly host as well. The Devil appears to have been newly appointed to a position of high authority. Apparently this authority “went to his head” so to speak, making his situation an example that should not be imitated. (1 Timothy 3:6) It is interesting to note that God didn’t follow Paul’s advice with respects the Devil. It would appear to me that there were multiple levels of temptation for all the angels. Some were apparently drawn to disobedience by sexual desires. (Genesis 6:2; Jude 1:6) Others were apparently offered Princely powers as an incentive to disobey God. (Daniel 10:13; 10:20) There even seems to be a competition among Satan’s followers for authority which, in my opinion, is the reason for all the wars that have been fought throughout history. However, all of these national activities have been under God’s control (Romans 13:1) and have been a means of sifting humanity into two groups based upon their godly obedience. Since all of God’s work is “good” we must assume that this method is the “best” way to accomplish His purpose of sharing life with those created in His image. So, to answer the question about God creating the Devil knowing he would sin, it is because it was the only way He could achieve His objectives. If there was any other way to do it, Jesus sorrowfully pleaded with God to take that option. (Matthew 26:38-42; Luke 22:42) In my opinion, since God wanted to create free-will creatures to live forever, there is no other “possible” way to do it. (Mark 14:36) I might conclude with the thought that, despite all the evil that has been done, I am still glad God chose to do it His way. As an aside, in my opinion, this is another item we can add to the short list of things that are impossible for God to do.
Cathy kelso
In my perception of this is, God has a reason for all. We as parents, even before we have children, subconsciously we know that it will be difficult to raise a child. We want to feed them, teach them right from wrong and hope and pray that the seed that we plant will eventually in turn give them the knowledge to make the right decision. God has created and allowed things to be examples for others to follow and to help them to choose for themselves. Had God not allowed evil there would be no examples to show, thus taking away the power of free will, which is what God wanted from the beginning.
Frederick Thomas
God continued to create freewilled mankind because though He knew they would choose to sin, He had a perfect restoring plan. The Just God took full responsibility for their failure by fully punishing the Second Person of the Godhead. Thereby God has fully exercised what justice required.
Dave Mohler
This is answered in Rev. 4:11: “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.” God did not want puppets, He wanted perfect fellowship. Just as God warned Adam and Eve about disobedience, He also played fair with Lucifer by showing him the splendor of God's creation in intimate detail and reminded him that, "You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty."..."you were created"..."I established you"..."You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you." (Ezekiel 28). These were words of warning for Lucifer (Satan). When Satan wanted the place of God it was a declaration of war against God that continues to this day.
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