More Americans have been killed by Covid-19 in two months than were killed in the Vietnam War in 20 years. Some Christians are responding to these uncertain times with familiar platitudes—none more popular than, “God is in control.” But is he?
Mike Erre is back to talk about the tension in Scripture between God’s sovereignty and human free will. Also this week: What’s so special about lama blood? Churchgoers attempting to conduct a drive-in service get ticketed. A conspiracy theory growing among Christians says Dr. Fauci planned the pandemic in league with the antichrist. Has gullibility now become a Christian virtue? Skye shares his family’s quarantine rules, and Phil thinks bathing is overrated.
i have seen a helpful list on prophets that speaks of a few simple characteristics: - faithful to the teachings of the Bible/in harmony with word of God - exalts Jesus over self - "He must increase, i must decrease" matt 11:11 - reveal grace of Jesus hope thats helpful, even if its a bit simplistic. ive heard other characteristics as in person being in an unresponsive state when receiving messages from the Lord and etc, but those things are probably able to be replicated in false prophets.
i have seen a helpful list on prophets that speaks of a few simple characteristics: - faithful to the teachings of the Bible/in harmony with word of God - exalts Jesus over self - "He must increase, i must decrease" matt 11:11 - reveal grace of Jesus hope thats helpful, even if its a bit simplistic. ive heard other characteristics as in person being in an unresponsive state when receiving messages from the Lord and etc, but those things are probably able to be replicated in false prophets.
The rule for discerning true prophets (Deut 18:21–22) is trickier than I used to realize. Jonah's unconditionally stated prophecy was that Nineveh would be overthrown in 40 days (3:4). But this didn't come to pass (because the people repented). But he's still a genuine prophet of YHWH.
Isaiah prophesied unconditionally that Hezekiah would die from his illness in 2 Kings 20:1, but this didn't come to pass, because Hezekiah prayed it would not and God listened (20:5). But Isaiah is also a genuine prophet.
So I'm not sure exactly how the discernment rule about true and false prophets in Deuteronomy is supposed to work. If applied in a wooden fashion, both Jonah and Isaiah (and others) would be put to…
Skye, I agree that scripture speaks of God knowing certain things ahead of time. Some, like Ps 139:4, are simple to reconcile with the future not yet existing (i.e., if even I can sometimes guess what someone I know well would say, surely God, who knows them better than they know themselves and literally knows the state of their every neuron, could know what they would say before they do).
Others, like Ps 139:16, I don't have a convincing answer for. But those types of passages about God knowing the future exhaustively are rare and are vastly outnumbered by the ones which state/imply that he does not know the future exhaustively.
jhurshman—
I agree. To merely see these examples as anthropomorphisms doesn’t work. There are clearly examples of God discovering, testing, and expressing surprise.
However, Scripture also speaks unambiguously of the Lord’s omniscience. No where is this more clear than Ps 139:
”Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, OLord, you know it altogether.” (v.4)
”Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (v16)
And, of course, there is the Lord’s own declaration about true and false prophets (Deut 18:20-22) where the true prophets of God are those who correctly foresee future…