Predestination
Does the Bible Teach It?
By
Herbert W. Armstrong
Is
your ultimate fate decided for you in advance? No subject has baffled,
perplexed, and worried people more. Here, for the first time, many will read
the astonishing truth, so plain all can understand.
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THE very fact of wartime casualties and
accidental deaths has caused a great deal of added sorrow and grief that is
entirely unnecessary -- if we understand! Many have grieved in the belief that
loved ones died eternally "lost" -- when, if they understood the
truth, these probably were not lost at all.
The Common Conception
Several years ago, a man, quite worried
over the subject of predestination, went to a certain minister.
"Do you believe in
predestination?" he asked. "The Bible teaches it, brother," was
the minister's reply. The minister tried hard to explain. "But that
doesn't really mean," he said, "that you have nothing to do with your
own salvation. It doesn't mean that it is all set -- your decision and eternal
fate all determined for you in advance. You are to make your own decision. But
God knows all things, even in advance. And so He knows beforehand how you are
going to decide."
This didn't satisfy the troubled man at
all. "If God knows beforehand how I am going to decide," he reasoned,
"then it is all predetermined. If He knows in advance I am to be LOST,
then that's the way I'll have to decide in the end. And since I'll lose out
anyway, why try? On the other hand, if He knows now I'm going to repent and accept
Christ and be saved, I'll have to do it in the end anyway, whether I try or
not. Then my ultimate fate is predetermined. Isn't that what predestination
means -- that the ultimate fate of each one is PREdestined -- destined, or
determined, in advance? And if that's so, then we simply are not free moral
agents, and we have nothing to say about it."
The poor man was more discouraged than
ever. And no wonder. Neither could convince the other, because both were
arguing from a false premise -- that predestination has to do with whether each
individual shall be lost, or saved.
Does the Bible teach that your ultimate
fate is already predestinated?
Neither the preacher nor his perplexed
questioner had read carefully what the Bible does say.
What confusion we are in today -- what
All Unsaved Not Finally Lost
But all this perplexity and worry has
arisen from another general assumption -- one of the greatest errors of this
time, yet almost universally taken for granted without so much as a thought to
inquire into it.
That is the assumption that there are only
two classes, living or dead -- the saved, and the lost. How many sermons have
you heard based on the theory "there is no middle ground. Either you are
this minute saved, or you're a lost soul!" This teaching has led to untold
suffering and unnecessary grief.
Thousands are grieving over departed loved
ones who had never made a profession of Christ. Perhaps over one who really
lived wickedly; perhaps over one who lived a "good" life in the
worldly sense, but still had never accepted Christ or been converted. Still
others grieve because of a doubt -- they are not sure whether some loved one
died saved.
If this booklet does no more than dispel
some of this needless grief, and bring a little enlightenment and comfort to
some of our readers, it will have been worthwhile.
So listen! Notice carefully. It's
important that you understand.
Supposing this universal assumption were
true, see where it leads us.
This teaching comes from the supposition,
also generally taken for granted without question, that this is the one and
only age and time when God is trying desperately to save the world -- that the
mission of the Church is to save the world -- that this is the only day of
salvation, and it is now about over. "Probation" is about to close.
Soon it will be too late.
What of the Ignorant Heathen?
We know, of course, the Bible plainly says
there is but one name given under heaven among men whereby we may be saved --
the name of Jesus Christ.
Over in
They cannot be saved! And now let us ask,
can we believe that a God of love brought these individuals into the world
without their knowledge or consent, permitted them to live and die without ever
having heard the precious gospel -- that God has simply consigned them to
eternal punishment because they never had a chance?
Or, do we believe that in some manner God
saves them, if they live up to the best they know, without having known and
accepted Christ -- without having been converted? Is there, then, some other
name -- some other way to salvation and life eternal, than through Jesus Christ
our Lord? Certainly we can find no such teaching in the Bible.
Then what is the truth?
Not the Only Day of Salvation
The amazing, startling truth is that this
is not the age in which God is trying to save all the
world! It is not the only day of salvation.
Rather, we are nearing, now, the end of
the six working days of the millennial week allotted to Satan.
Scripture plainly reveals Satan as the god
of this world -- this age; the prince of the power of the air; the actual
spirit ruler of this present world. He is in power! He offered to turn over
this power to Jesus, if He would only worship Satan. Jesus actually won the
right to that power -- to dethrone and replace Satan in power -- by resisting him
in that temptation. When Christ comes to rule, Satan shall be dethroned and
utterly shorn of power. But he has power, now!
Satan's Millennial Week
Satan retains that power only by God's
express permission. God has, for all practical purposes, turned over six days
of one week -- an approximate millennial week, each "day" an actual
thousand years -- to Satan. A day is as a thousand years with God, and a
thousand years as a day. It forms an overall period of time (II Peter 3:8).
God's principles never change. Applied to
this millennial "week," God has said to Satan, in effect: "Six
'days' shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath
of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work."
Satan's work is a labor of deception -- of
deceiving mankind upon earth -- of turning God's truth upside down -- causing
honest sincere people to accept a counterfeit for the genuine -- deceiving the
people into sin. And how successfully he has worked at his occupation for six
thousand long years!
We are nearing, now, the end of the first
six days of Satan's "week." And the coming seventh millennial day
shall be the Sabbath of the Lord our God. The first six days God has turned
over to Satan, and given him free reign to influence and to deceive. But the
coming seventh millennium is God's Day -- it shall belong to Him. In it, Satan
shall not do any work -- he shall be chained, restrained, thrown into the
symbolic "bottomless pit" (Rev. 20:1-4) -- he shall not deceive a
single soul. That day shall not belong to him, thank God -- it shall belong to
God, who shall rule through Christ!
Jesus plainly said He is "Lord of the
Sabbath." And as this millennial Sabbath dawns, Jesus shall return to
earth in person -- as King of kings not only, but Lord of lords. He is coming
not only to reign and to rule, as King of kings. But as Lord of lords, He is
coming as High Priest to SAVE!
The fact we must now see -- the astounding
fact, almost unbelievable in the light of erroneous traditions, yet true -- is
that we have been living in the age of Satan's dominion -- while Satan, with
God's express permission, has been ruling -- and not in the age when God has
set His hand to save the world!
Not Given to Many to Understand
Notice carefully, now. Shocking as this truth
may seem to many, yet it is the plain truth. During
this time while Satan has been permitted to reign, it is simply not given to
all to understand God's truth!
For instance, most people suppose Jesus
spoke in parables in order to make His meaning clearer. But He didn't. He spoke
in parables to hide His real meaning -- to cover it so they could not
understand. After Jesus had spoken the parable of the sower and the seed,
notice: Mark 4:10-12; Matthew 13:10-13.
Notice, Jesus plainly said that except to His
disciples whom He had called, "it is not given" to even know of the
Kingdom -- even to them who actually saw Jesus and heard Him speak in person.
They were not permitted to understand!
That's astonishing! But there it is, in
your own Bible -- read it!
Not All Called Now
But there is no injustice with God. He
denies no one an opportunity of salvation. These many are simply not called now
-- at this time -- in this, Satan's age. This is simply not the time when God
is trying to save everyone.
If He were -- and
of course we know Satan is trying to deceive people into loss of salvation --
then Satan surely would be getting the better of the contest. But it is not a
contest between God and Satan, at all. God alone rules in high heaven, and what
Satan does he does not do in competition or in spite of God, or contrary to
God's will -- he does it only by God's express permission -- and God gives that
permission for an express and wise purpose. Some day we shall fully understand!
But God denies no one a chance. There is
no injustice with God. Everyone is to have his full chance. But God does things
His way and in His time, and in His plan all are not being called now. Millions
who have died without a chance shall be resurrected and given their full chance
-- and without a devil to tempt them. The space of this booklet does not permit
a full explanation of this here, but the 37th chapter of Ezekiel is one very
definite revelation of this fact. (Write for our free article "Is This the
Only Day of Salvation?" for a full explanation.)
Notice, I Corinthians 1:24-26: "But
unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and
the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the
weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how
that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are
called."
Notice, "unto them which are
called." Some are called. All are not called, at this time -- during this
age of Satan's dominion. "For ye see your calling, brethren" -- Paul
is speaking only to those he calls "brethren" -- those who had been
called -- "how that not many" -- notice it, "not many wise men
after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble" -- not many of these in
the world are called!
Gospel Preached for a Witness
Did Jesus say the gospel was to be
preached to CONVERT all nations? No, only as a news announcement for a witness!
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a
witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" -- the end of the
age! (Matt. 24:14.) Then follows the new age when the reign of Christ shall
replace that of Satan.
While, during the present age, many in
number are called, yet it is a few comparatively. And those who are called are
called to a calling, and what is it? First, a calling to a changed life -- a
life of overcoming sin and self. And notice what Jesus said of those now
called, who do grow in grace and in knowledge, who endures unto the end, and
who overcome. Notice their ultimate calling.
Revelation 2:26-27: "And he that
overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over
the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron ...."
When Jesus was here on earth it was His
custom, as recorded in Luke 4:16, to preach the gospel every Sabbath day. And
when this great millennial Sabbath dawns Satan will be imprisoned, and Christ
will come not only to rule -- He shall also preach! The Pharisees thought it
wrong for Him to heal on the Sabbath -- and the religionists of this day,
mostly, seem to believe it would be wrong for Him to heal sin-sick people
during the millennial Sabbath! But He shall do it, just the same.
When Most of
One of the most wonderful chapters in the
Bible is the eleventh of Romans. Few seem to understand it -- yet it's plain.
Some, today, say God has rejected and utterly cast away the Jewish people. They
suppose the Jews are
This marvellous chapter says God has not
cast away His people
The rest are blinded spiritually, and GOD
blinded them -- deliberately and for a purpose -- not permanently, but until
the "fullness of the Gentiles be come in" --
and then what?
Then, we read in Romans
And, if we can but understand, this
chapter dealing with national fleshly
That's the comforting truth. The
overwhelming majority of our peoples, today, are neither saved nor lost -- they
simply have not, yet, been called.
The Purpose of the Christian Calling
But if God is not trying to save the whole
world now -- if most are not now called, or given opportunity for salvation --
why does God call any during this age? What's the purpose of calling some now?
That great purpose is to be trained to
rule with Christ, and to teach, under Him, when He comes in His Kingdom -- when
all
What a glorious mission is the true
Christian life! So don't grieve over departed ones you have felt were lost. The
chances are they were simply not then called -- it was not given to them to
understand -- their chance had not yet come. But they shall be resurrected,
their spiritual blindness removed, and, if you are one of the called, and if
you are faithful and finally chosen, you may be used then to minister to them,
and to lead them into salvation and life eternal.
Oh, what a glorious hope! What truly good news, is the true gospel of Christ, which most people today
simply have never heard. They are hearing a false gospel today!
But Paul in Romans 11 shows that salvation
has come to the few, the elect in
Great Harvest of Heathen People
But now, how about the hundreds of
millions of heathen who never heard?
Will Gentiles -- heathen Gentiles -- have
a chance of salvation after Christ returns? -- after
the Kingdom is set up to rule over all nations?
Flesh and blood, remember, cannot inherit
the Kingdom. Only those finally born again -- born of the Spirit -- those who
shall have become Spirit, and no longer flesh and blood (John 3:1-8) shall be
in the Kingdom.
And they are the saints of this time, now
called, changed, then, to immortality. (See I
Corinthians 15:50-54.) They are those called during this dispensation who have endured unto the end, and proved overcomers. And
they shall rule, and teach, the nations (Rev. 2:27;
Those now called, during this time, are
called to a life of training -- spiritual character training, -- to fit them
for positions of high responsibility in the Kingdom. The one, for example, who
multiplies ten times over in spiritual character what God gives him at
conversion shall be qualified to rule ten cities. The one who overcomes, and
grows in grace and knowledge only five times shall be qualified to rule over
five cities. The one who thinks he "got saved" merely by
"accepting Christ" and, deceived by the "no works"
teaching, did not grow or develop in his Christian life at all, will have taken
from him even the salvation he thought he had. See the parable of the "pounds,"
Luke 19.
But who shall these converted immortals
reign over? One glimpse into this millennial rule is found in Isaiah 11. It
portrays Christ ruling the world in righteousness. It is a time when wild
animals are tamed. Babies are being born, and nursing babes and weaned babies
shall be playing with wild animals and deadly snakes -- now tamed and harmless.
Now notice:
Isaiah 11:10-11: "And in that day
there shall be a root of Jesse [Christ], which shall stand for an ensign of the
people; to it [the Root -- Christ] shall the Gentiles seek ... and it shall
come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second
time to recover the remnant of his people [Israel] ...."
To Christ, then ruling, shall the Gentiles
seek! And then, as the returned Deliverer, shall He set His hand again the
second time to recover
Notice again Micah 4:2, "And many
nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Eternal,
and to the house of the God of Jacob [the Kingdom of God]; and he will teach us
of his ways, and we will walk in his paths ...."
And now what of those Gentiles who never
heard? Notice! Isaiah 66:15, 19: "For, behold, the Eternal will come with
fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury
[last plagues] ... And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that
escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud [Gentile nations]
... and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither seen
my glory: and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles."
The Great Fall Harvest
When Jesus, the Great Deliverer shall
come, the dead in Christ (those who have been called, and who have accepted the
call and been finally saved) shall be resurrected out of their graves immortal
(I Cor.
Thus they shall be separated from all
earth's mortals -- mark that! The separation between mortal and immortal is
made before Christ ever touches this earth.
They meet the King Eternal up in the
clouds. Where do they go from there? The first four verses of Zechariah 14
reveal that in that same day -- not a thousand years afterward -- Christ's feet
shall stand upon the
Then, upon this earth He shall take over
His throne -- the throne of His father David (Luke
And then what shall happen, during the
thousand year reign from then on?
Matthew 25:31-34, 41: "When the Son
of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he
sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations
[Gentiles and Israelites]: and he shall separate them one from another, as a
shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his
right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his
right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
.... Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire ...."
Notice, all those called and saved prior
to Christ's second appearing on earth had been separated from the unsaved
before Christ stood upon earth -- while still in the clouds of the air --
before He sat upon the throne of His glory.
The separation going on after He sits upon
that throne ruling over the nations, therefore, is a different, and a
succeeding separation.
Here are earth's nations -- earth's
mortals -- all nations. And now begins a process of separation. It is according
to the decisions they make, and the actions they take. Those who turn to a life
of righteousness are set on the right hand. They are converted -- given
immortality -- because Christ says to them: "Inherit the kingdom" --
and mortal flesh and blood cannot inherit that Kingdom! (I Cor. 15:50.)
Those who do evil then receive the full
penalty of the law -- death! They are sentenced to depart into the lake of
fire.
Certainly this passage pictures nothing
but a process of salvation going on, after Christ's return, during His
millennial "Sabbath Day."
That is the great "fall harvest of
souls"! The astonishing fact is that the present human harvest corresponds
to the early spring grain harvest of
Not a Second Chance
But, some will say, is not this the
doctrine of a second chance?
Absolutely not! One text ought to make
that plain. Hebrews 10:26-27: "If we sin wilfully after that we have
received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for
sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation
...."
Those to whom it has not been given to
understand those not now called -- have not received the knowledge of the truth.
Most do not really grasp it -- they do not
really understand. Because the truth is spiritual knowledge, and spiritual
knowledge cannot be transmitted naturally to a mortal human mind. Spiritual
truth is revealed! None receive it, though their ears hear the words, or their
eyes read them, except as God opens their understanding, and by His Spirit
reveals to them the truth.
But, if one has been truly called of God,
convicted by God's Spirit, his mind opened to the precious spiritual knowledge
of the truth, then if that man sins wilfully, deliberately, intentionally,
without resistance -- that man is through! He has had his chance. He shall have
no other during the coming millennium.
Those who shall then be saved are those
who have not, until then, been called. They are those who never had a previous
chance.
In God's own time, according to His plan,
all shall have their chance. But each in his order. Those who were born and
lived first receive theirs last. And those born last come in first. The illustration
of the "valley of dry bones" in Ezekiel 37 shows the whole House of
Israel -- those spiritually blinded who lived and died without a chance --
resurrected in mortal bodies to mortal life, as before. It shows their
understanding being opened -- the knowledge coming to them for the first time.
Then God puts His Holy Spirit within them, and they are saved!
Those Who Died Unsaved
And so it follows, now, that most of our
loved ones who have died unsaved in all probability did not die lost. In all
probability they were not called, during this age. But their call is coming
later. They shall be resurrected back to life, and given their fair chance. And
you, if you are called -- if God reveals this wonderful truth to your mind --
are having your one and only chance now -- your chance to prepare and fit
yourself to be used of Christ in the loving labor of helping to save them,
then!
Oh, what great meaning we begin to see in
the Christian life! What glorious purpose! What grave responsibility! Will you
make your calling and election sure?
And now, in the light of this wonderful
revelation of truth, we should be able to understand this matter of
"predestination."
What "Predestination" Is
Not
Very few understand what
"predestination" is. First, consider what it is not. There is no
teaching in the Bible that says the decision you are to make -- your final fate
of becoming either saved or lost, is already
pre-determined, and that you are destined finally to arrive at that fate.
Absolutely no text anywhere in the Bible
says anyone is predestinated to be lost.
But doesn't the Bible say anything about
predestination? Certainly. But it does not say what people seem to think.
People seem to think it says we are predestinated to be either saved or lost.
Some to be saved -- others to be lost.
Let us read the only texts in the Bible
speaking about "predestination." And see if you can find anything in
any of them about anyone being predestinated to be lost. The difficulty is that
people have assumed and taken for granted what is not true.
There are just four places where the word
"predestinated" occurs in the Authorized Version.
Romans 8:28-30: "And we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to
be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he
called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also
glorified."
Ephesians 1:4-5, 11-12: "According as
he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be
holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure
of his will ... in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being
predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will: that we should be to the praise of his glory, who
first trusted in Christ."
Notice, none of the places in the Bible
where predestination is mentioned says anything about anyone being
predestinated to be LOST -- predestinated to reject Christ. No one is
predestinated to make a certain decision -- to accept or reject Christ -- to be
saved or lost. But some have been predestinated to be called to salvation, now!
When We Were Called
Of those called now, in this age, notice
when we were called! II Timothy 1:9: "God, who hath saved us, and called
us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began."
And, as in Ephesians 1, quoted above,
notice carefully what it says:
God chose us in Him, when? "Before
the foundation of the world"!
"Having predestinated us" --
what for? To be lost? No, "unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ."
"Being predestinated according to the
purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will."
Were any predestinated, then, to be lost? Is it God's will that any be lost? He
says it is not! Then can't we see that "predestination" has nothing
to do with whether we shall be lost or saved -- with our decision -- with our
ultimate fate?
Notice carefully, now! "Being
predestinated ... that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first
trusted in Christ." Those predestinated are the first to trust in Christ
-- merely the first preliminary soul-harvest.
And now do you begin to see the glorious
truth -- that predestination has nothing to do with your making a decision or
your fate -- it has only to do with the time of your calling -- whether you are
called now, in this age, or later.
Notice it in the passage in Romans
8:28-30: "For whom he did foreknow ...." How great is God! If you are
one now called, God "foreknew" you. And "whom he did foreknow,
he also did predestinate" -- to be lost? No, "to be conformed to the
image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom
he did predestinate, them he also called ...." Not will call in the future
-- called, now, in this age.
There it is. Note it. "Whom he did
predestinate, them he also called." Predestination has to do with being
called. Not with being saved or lost. Those now being called, in this age, were
foreknown, and PRE-destinated to be called now -- to be the first to put their
hope in Christ. All others have their call later.
God does not decide for you, in advance,
whether you shall be saved or lost. He did decide far in advance which ones He
would call in this first calling, to be a priest or a king in His Kingdom -- to
have part in the saving of others.
How wonderful are God's ways, when He
opens our understanding to reveal them to us.
Let us make our calling and final election
sure. Let us not grieve over departed loved ones who probably were not called,
in this life. God is able to raise them up again. They will come up in the
Great White Throne Judgment. And in that judgment, the book of life shall be opened,
and many shall then find it. Judgment, now, is upon the true
The overwhelming majority on earth today
are neither saved nor lost. Their chance has not yet come. This is not their
time. But it is coming as certainly as God's Word is true.
This is not the age when Christ is
desperately contesting Satan as to whether all humanity shall be saved or lost.
If it were, as most seem to believe, a controversy for souls now, between
Christ and Satan, then Satan surely is winning the contest, and a one-sided
contest it is.
But Satan is not more powerful than God.
We near, now, the close of the sixth working day of Satan's week. Soon will
come "the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Satan shall be chained,
Christ shall rule -- and preach, and save!
INSET:
II CORINTHIANS 6:2
Is this the one and only age and time when
God is trying desperately to save the world? Some have been confused by II
Corinthians 6:2 which seems to say that now is the only day of salvation.
This verse reads: "For he saith, I
have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I
succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of
salvation."
But the word "the" in the King
James Version is actually misleading, because it is absent in both the Hebrew
and the Greek.
Actually, II Corinthians 6:2 was quoted by
Paul from the Old Testament. Paul is quoting Isaiah 49:8: "Thus saith the
Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in
a day of salvation have I helped thee ...." The Hebrew text of Isaiah 49:8
does not have a definite article. Neither does the Greek text of II Corinthians
6:2. The first part of the verse is more correctly rendered as follows: "I
have answered thy prayer, he says, in a [not the only one] time of pardon, I
have brought thee help in a [not the only one] day of salvation" (Knox
translation).
Certainly, this is the day of salvation
for those who have been called and whose minds have been opened to His truth by
God. Now is their chance -- their opportunity to qualify for His Kingdom. This
is the day of salvation for them. But it is not the day of salvation for the
vast majority. They will receive their chance -- their first and only chance --
at a later time. It is a day of salvation, but not the only day of salvation.
Consider also that if it
were the only day of salvation in Paul's time -- then it is closed to us today.
But Paul was quoting a scripture hundreds of years old. Was that time -- in the
days of Isaiah -- the only day of salvation? Obviously NOT.
Today, as in the time of Paul, it was only one of several times of salvation.