29 March, 2024

How Much Does God Really Know? (Part 2)

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by | 18 March, 2007 | 1 comment

Editor”s note: Last week”s article introduced the “openness of God” (open theism) debate by listing difficult questions about God and time that have faced sincere believers throughout history. The author also offered a long list of Scriptures that seem to support the openness idea.

He concludes this week with a parallel Scripture list that seems to refute this doctrine and then offers suggestions for reconciling the paradox.


 

 

By Knofel Staton

Those who advocate open theism say God does not know what will happen in the future because there is nothing yet to know. The future is open not only to us, but also to God.

But for centuries Christians have maintained God knows everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen in the future regardless of how far away the future extends.

Scriptural Support for the Omniscience of God

Many texts support the belief that God knows the future as well as the past.

“¢ God declared there is no other God, for “I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, “˜My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure”; calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it” (Isaiah 46:9-11).*

God did not actually say he knew every single thing between the beginning and the end. But whatever he planned to happen would because he would ensure it would be done. From the beginning of creation he certainly knew how this world would end””the “end from the beginning.”

“¢ God predicted events before they happened:

The coming of Jesus to destroy the works of Satan (Genesis 3:15). He knew his people would be slaves in Egypt, for how long, and that he would bring them out. God predicted that even before Abraham and Sarah had a son, let alone the 12 sons, later born to Jacob, who were foundational for the Hebrew nation in Egypt (Genesis 15:13-15).

God prophesied specifics about the downfall of empires, even describing from which direction conquerors would come (Daniel 11).

God prophesied the birth of King Cyrus even before his parents were born””150 years before Cyrus became king of Persia””and revealed precisely what that pagan king would do for the Jews (Isaiah 41:2, 25; 44:28″“45:7; 46:11; 48:15).

God knew about the good crop years that would come to Egypt to be followed by the exact number of famine years (Genesis 41:1-32).

God prophesied many small details about the birth, life, death, resurrection, and return of Jesus.

God reminded his people, “I declared the former things long ago and they went forth from My mouth, and I proclaimed them. Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. . . . Therefore I declared them to you long ago, before they took place I proclaimed them to you, lest you should say, “˜My idol has done them”” (Isaiah 48:3-5).

“¢ Some of the Old Testament prophets wrote that God could not change his mind the way people do: “God is not a . . . son of a man, that He should repent [the New International Version reads, “that he should change his mind]; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good” (Numbers 23:19)? He who is “the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind” (1 Samuel 15:29). But how do we square those statements with many others in which God admitted he did change his mind? One set of statements does not cancel the other set, for there are two different motivations for changing the mind. One is to change the mind about making false statements as people do and thus need to change. The other is to change the mind about a decision or statement that was not false, which God”s were not. Balaam and Samuel rightly declared that God never needs to change his mind as humans do after they speak lies or falsely declare something that was wrong. But that does not prevent God from choosing to change his mind for other reasons.

Bridging Paradoxical Statements

To think any of us fully understands God is naïve at best and arrogant at worst. If not careful, we can border on replacing the mystery of God with the belief that we can contain him inside the human mind.

Surely we can admit we know only what God reveals about himself. It appears he chose not to reveal the mystery about some of the above paradoxes. Our attempts to understand biblical paradoxes about God and time must not diminish or erode our view of him as God. We must always remember he can do whatever he decides to do (Psalm 115:3).

How can some be so sure God cannot know what has not yet happened? Why not admit he can know something a million years in advance, which might fit Ephesians 1:4, and something a minute before it happens, which might fit Psalm 139:13-15?

All Bible readers recognize the scriptural texts supporting the two different doctrines are paradoxical””on the surface they contradict each other. The popular approach both sides use is to rationalize that one set of statements does not really mean what it says. However, that approach does not erase those statements from the Bible. If God said he would predict some future events but also change his mind about some others, we have no right to teach otherwise.

It is wrong to rationalize God”s predictions of future events by stating some of the future had been ordained beforehand, so God could and did know that, but some of the future has not been so settled, so God could not and did not know those for they are unknowable and not preordained.

It is possible to bridge the paradoxical statements without destroying or eliminating any of them by fanciful interpretation in order to hang on to preconceived perceptions, perspectives, and conclusions. Here are two spans in that bridge:

“¢ The Creator”s compressed time. Future knowledge for us is limited because we live in the solar system. We measure time by minutes, hours, days, weeks, and years, which is one of God”s purposes for creating the sun and moon (Genesis 1:14). Consequently, we cannot see with certainty beyond the now””not even the next minute. But God transcends our time. He can see the past, present, and future panoramically. With God, a thousand years is like a day and a day is like a thousand years (Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8). Consequently, it is not a big deal for God to predict something a thousand years before it happens as calculated by the solar system, because from God”s vantage point that”s just hours away. Thus, from God”s vantage point, the future is nearly synonymous with the present.

But what about Bible statements that things did not happen as God thought they would? And what does it mean when God says “if” or “perhaps”? That takes us to the next span in the bridge.

“¢ The Father”s choice. It seems likely to me that our eternal loving Father who gave us free will, and who has deep compassion for us, decided not to know every aspect of our personal future. That is, he decided to limit his knowledge as he decided to limit his power while we are living on earth.

He has all power, but has limited it. That does not reduce him from being omnipotent. He also has all knowledge””the ability to know everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen, but he has chosen not to. That does not reduce him from being omniscient.

He has the ability to keep the curtain to the future closed to his view and he has the ability to open it in order to make some predictions so people will know he is the Creator above us, and in order to intervene when necessary to keep his purposeful mission on track toward the end of the world.

That the heavenly Father usually decides not to know our future decisions, actions, and reactions resolves all the apparent biblical contradictions or paradoxes. The Father not choosing to view all details of the future also fits our understanding of God”s relationship with us as Father, who rejoices, grieves, and is angry when things happen. He uses “if” and “perhaps” statements about events that have not happened. He wants to relate to us without micromanaging us. He wants to express his love, listen to our prayers, and answer them.

That fatherly side of God squares with our own parental side, doesn”t it? I suspect God has given parents the desire not to know specific details about our children”s future until they happen, because that is also his desire. The difference is that we are not able to know, but he is. By choosing not to know, he responds to our prayers, grieves when we grieve, rejoices when we honor him, and expresses anger when our actions hurt him.

Our God honors the freedom of will he gave us. He is personally close to our attitudes and activities, and desires to be intimately involved with us and for us. We anticipate the future with him, because we know we can make a difference . . . together.

________

*All Scripture quotes are from the New American Standard Bible.


 

 

Knofel Staton maintains his teaching, speaking, and writing ministry from his home in Joplin, Missouri.

1 Comment

  1. Brent Mackey

    Acts 1:7 says that God set time by his own authority .
    That means that God is both inside and outside of time if he has authority over it. That makes everything in the Bible clear. Outside of time God knows the end from the beginning inside of time he can react to prayers, he can answer prayers, he can say what needs to be said while inside of time. He can even repent- change His mind. While outside of time He knows exactly what He did in working with His creation.

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