Automatic Transcript Generated:
Speaker 1
So John is asking, why is it that all things written by Moses and or the prophets must come to pass? Does it have to do with God’s foreknowledge, his foreordination, or both? Luke 24 44 and he said unto them, these are the words which I spoken to you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms concerning me.
Speaker 2
So John also, this is a great question and there’s a lot to unpack here, and I’ll try to be as concise as I can too. So let’s first take a look at that verse at Luke two sorry, Luke 24 starting at verse 44. But I don’t want to stop there because if we keep going, it will really answer what this verse is about. So first Luke 24 44 reads then he said to them so Jesus said, these are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must so they must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses and the prophets in the psalms concerning me. And he opened their understanding that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then he said to them, thus it is written, so it must be fulfilled. Was written. So now he says, Thus it was written, and thus it was earlier said, it must be fulfilled. Why must it be? It was necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations beginning at Jerusalem.
Speaker 2
So why was it that the things which have been written must have taken place? Why must they be fulfilled? I think first, why must it happen? It’s the plan of salvation needs to happen. These prophecies are about the planet salvation. God wants to carry it out. It must be carried out for the human race to be redeemed, for people to have a chance to be saved from their sins and to have an opportunity to turn from them. So I think that’s first and foremost, what Jesus is talking about there. This is why this needs to happen. This is why you need to know about these things, so that we can go save people. But John asks, does it properly see also have these elements of God’s foreknowledge or is he making things happen? Let’s talk about that. I believe the answer is yes and yes. And there’s other things going on I want to quickly address also, like does that mean we don’t have free will? So jeremiah. Look at this. It reads so Jeremiah says, before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. So first God says, I formed you, and I also knew you.
Speaker 2
And before you were born I sanctified you or set you apart, and I ordained you a prophet to the nation. So here, it looks like God has both for knowledge and he’s also bringing about things that happen. So the future is reflecting God’s will to some degree. And then we see similar things in Isaiah 46, starting at verse nine. So Isaiah 46, starting at verse nine, god writes, remember the former things of old, for I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times, things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. Calling a bird of pray from the east, the man who executes My counsel from a far away country. Indeed, I’ve spoken it, I will also bring it to pass. I have purpose it, I will also do it. So again, here God’s saying, I have knowledge. I have said what’s going to happen in the future, even way back in the past? And then I also am causing it to happen. So these are both things that are going on and we have to understand this unique concept about God’s word and what God says.
Speaker 2
Like in Hebrews one, verse three, it talks about how God is upholding all things by the word of his power. And if you look in Genesis, God just speaks and things are created and things get done. His words have creative energy in of themselves. We’re talking about a power that’s beyond our comprehension. Just by speaking, it happens. Which is why you also need to read the Bible, because it’s God’s word. And this is why it says man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. The words of Scripture are powerful. But there’s also this other thing of why what was written come to pass. Why must it come to pass? Well, because if God said so, God predicted it through his prophet. It has to, or else God will be a liar. That is an impossibility. And think about that. That’s actually something we can do, that God cannot do. God is absolutely incapable of lying. If he says something is so, it will become so and it won’t even have a chance to be a lie. So if you look at Titus One Two says, in hope of the eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, god cannot lie.
Speaker 2
This means there’s a thin line between prophecy and promises. So God at times might even just be making a promise. But his promise actually, in a sense, will become a prophecy and accomplish it. And I hope this helps you realize how much faith we can have in God. He cannot lie. What you read in the Bible is truth. It’s a promise. It’s going to happen because he said so. And we can take for granted that it will happen if we believe God is as he says he is. And who he is scripture cannot be broken. By the way that’s John 1035. Scripture cannot be broken. So that’s another reason why what God says will happen, must happen. Scripture can’t be broken, prophecies can’t go wrong. Deuteronomy 1821 to 22 talks about a test of profit and if his prophecy doesn’t come to pass, it’s assigning wasn’t really a profit. We’ll talk about that with Jonah in a moment here. So prophecy doesn’t negate our free will, though there are stories after stories after stories in the Bible where God makes a prediction, a prophecy is given, but then God might change his mind and not bring to fruition the prophecy.
Speaker 2
He said really what the Bible is showing is god is at times telling us ahead of time what he’s planning to do. This prophecy of what he’s going to do is a reaction to what we’ve done. And then God gives us an opportunity to change and react to this prophecy, to better align ourselves to his will. So there’s this constant interplay of interplay of God knowing the future, not telling us what he’s going to do, us doing things, god responded to that and us responding to God. So we’re not losing total free will. God is still got to still influencing things, but we still also have free choice. And I think a great verse that illustrates this is Two Kings chapter 19, starting at verse 25. And this is talking about KingstonA Rab of assyria. And this is God’s message being pronounced through the prophet says have you not heard? Long ago. I ordained it. God has poor knowledge and predicts it causes. It happened in the days of old, I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass that you have turned fortified cities into piles of stone. So God saying, hey Sanakra, don’t get it into your head that you’re this huge, awesome, mighty leader.
Speaker 2
You’re doing it because I wanted you to be able to do it. So their people, drained of power, are dismayed and put to shame. They are like plants in the field, like tender shoots, like grass bounding up on the roof, scorched before it grows up. But I know where you are and when you come and go and how you rage against me. So God indicates that you have a choice. You’re choosing to rage against me because you rage against me. God says and because of your insolence has reached my ears. So you’re rebelling against me because you’re rebelling against me, you have choice of freedom. You’re rebelling against me because of this though, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth and I will make you return the way you came. So a great illustration got his poor knowledge. God was in some ways the actions of Sanakrab were according to God’s will, god’s plan. But then when it really got to his head and Sanakrab thinks he’s some big shot and then just goes totally evil, god reigns them in, says, no, you’re going against my will, and now I will intervene.
Speaker 2
Let’s talk about Jonah. So jonah. Jonah. Three versus 45. We know the story, right? Jonah’s walking around, he’s preaching in Nineveh. And what was his message? He said, yet 40 days and nineveh shall be overthrown. There is no ifs and but. He’s like, Nineveh, you’re going to be destroyed. All right? And he goes around, just says that. But did that come to pass? Is that what happened? No. If you read a verse ten, it says God saw the works, that they the people in turn from their evil way. So they had a choice, they chose, they changed what they’re doing. And it says, and God relented from the disaster that he said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it. So God wasn’t a liar, jonah wasn’t a false prophet, and God happily did not bring about the bad consequence that he was planning and would have done if they continued in the rebellion against them. So I think these really illustrate how God is very active. God can cause things up in the future. At the same time God can respond. And there’s story after story. Children israel was supposed to enter, but because of the rebellion, that whole generation perished, and only two made it in.
Speaker 2
Moses was supposed to go in, but because of his sin, he didn’t. Hezekiah king. Hezekai was supposed to die. God told him, you’re going to die. He cried. He said, Lord, remember me. And then Isaiah comes back, said, okay, Lord, heard your prayer. You’re not going to die. You’re going to live another 15 years. And then we have King Josiah again, where God says or indicates, hey, maybe Israel was going to be destroyed during your time, but because of what you did, because you’re a good king, I’m going to make sure that, sorry, not Israel, but Jerusalem won’t be destroyed during your time. So story after story, God intervenes or God adjust based on how we act. So you have free will, but you can also trust the prophecies of God in the Bible. They are true. They will come to pass, except for those that are conditional. That’s a whole another one, though, about what’s conditional, what’s not usually when it comes to destruction, that sort of thing. God will change that. God will relent so that we can be saved, that’s ultimately God’s will. That is ultimately God’s plan. And he’s eagerly working on the hearts of all of us to woo us back to Him.
Speaker 2
Dean, anything else you’d like to add?
Speaker 3
I think that was really good as far as especially understanding free will and prophecy in relation to that, because I think that that’s something that’s sometimes a little bit tricky to understand, is that God definitely says gives a warning as far as a prophecy, that can come to play, but it’s up to us as to how it’s going to play out in certain circumstances. The whole book of Deuteronomy is basically that like God says in chapter eleven, I set before you Israel a blessing and a curse. Like, which way are you going to go? And they chose a curse because they disobeyed. And you eventually see that fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon exactly how it was supposed to play out. And so, sadly, but that was based on their choice. But then there’s other prophecies where God knew things were going to happen and there was I don’t have much of a say in it. But if you look at Daniel two and all the prophecies of the nations that came about in order at the statue. Same thing in Daniel chapter seven with the beast. Which is basically the same nations that come in order from Babylon purchase everything.
Speaker 3
Those things. God was going to do that, but.
Speaker 2
It’S just and to the letter, those have taken place.
Speaker 3
Yes, exactly. But then when I think about this question and I think about why is it that all the things have to take place as far as what happened with Moses and the prophets that you read about. Like Jesus says in Psalms and Moses and everything. I can’t but help but think about the story of the road to Emmaus where Jesus is walking with those two disciples and they’re like. They didn’t know it was Jesus. And they’re like, haven’t you heard about this Jesus? And Jesus is like they’re kind of in disguise and like, oh, tell me about it. And then Jesus, basically it says that he started with Moses and from the prophecies told them all about Jesus. And I mean, that’s what his disciples did. And I really think that God was so smart in doing this because I think it’s been the biggest convincing argument that Jesus is the Christ, that all the prophecies for 4000 years before he came all been fulfilled. Like you see in Psalms, chapter 22. You see in Zephaniah three, everywhere in the Old Testament, in Genesis, genesis 315, how Jesus would be smitten. As far as our redemption, there’s just like hundreds and hundreds of these prophecies that you can’t help, but they are undeniable as far as showing that Jesus is who he said he is, which is the Son of God and our Redeemer and our Messiah.
Speaker 3
And we have no reason to doubt when we look at all of those hundreds and hundreds of prophecies of who Jesus is anyways.
Speaker 2
Amen. That’s a great point.
Speaker 3
Yeah.
Speaker 1
God is good.
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