FREE WILL AND THE BEAST
"Science promised man power... But, as so often happens when people are seduced by promises of power, the price is servitude and impotence. Power is nothing if it is not the power to choose." - Joseph Weizenbaum; scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Rene Descartes (1596-1650, French mathematician, philosopher), one of the founders of modern science, believed that the universe and all of the things in it were automata. From his time to the beginning of the 20th century, and perhaps because of him, our ancestors began to see the universe as a Great Machine. Over the next three hundred years they developed science (physics) specifically to discover how the Great Machine worked. (Gary Zukav, The Dancing Wu Li Masters, p. 22-23)
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727, English mathematician, physicist) was another forefather of modern science. According to the determination of Newtonian physics - if the universe really is a great machine - then from the moment that the universe was created and set into motion, everything that was to happen in it was already determined. We may seem to have a will of our own and the ability to alter the course of events in our lives, but we do not. Everything, from the beginning of time, has been predetermined, including our illusion of having a free will. The universe is a prerecorded tape playing itself out in the only way that it can. The status of men is immeasurably more dismal than it was before the advent of science. The Great Machine runs blindly on, and all things in it are but cogs. (ibid., p. 26)
EINSTEIN'S SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY
According to Newtonian physics, our three-dimensional reality is separate from, and moves forward in, a one-dimensional time. The Newtonian view of space and time is a dynamic picture. Events develop with the passage of time. Time is one-dimensional and moves forward. The past, present, and future happen in that order. Not so, says Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity. Our reality is four-dimensional, and the fourth dimension is time. We live, breathe, and exist in a four-dimensional space-time continuum. The special theory of relativity says that it is preferable, and more useful, to think in terms of a static, non-moving picture of space and time. This is the space-time continuum. In this static picture, events do not develop, they just are! If we could view our reality in a four-dimensional way, we would see that everything that now seems to unfold before us with the passing of time, already exists in toto, painted, as it were, on the fabric of space-time. We would see all, the past, the present, and the future with one glance. Of course, this is only a mathematical proposition (isn't it?). (ibid., p. 150) Or is it?
"Known to God from eternity are all His works." (Acts 15:18)
"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." (Isaiah 46:10)
God's Word seems to have verified what Einstein "theorized" about the space-time continuum.
CAUSE AND EFFECT
Any chemist can verify that most chemicals do react to stimulation. Under the right conditions, for example, sodium reacts to chlorine (by forming sodium chloride - salt), iron reacts to oxygen (by forming iron oxides - rust), and so on, just as humans react to food when they are hungry and to affection when they are lonely. How do we know that our responses are not as rigidly preprogrammed as those of a chemical, with the only difference being that our programs are enormously more complex? We may not have any more freedom of action than stones do, although, unlike stones, we deceive ourselves into thinking that we do! (ibid., p. 46)
In regards to this concept of man's "free will," we have just seen a few thoughts from some of the most insightful men of our era. Albert Einstein (1879-1955), who was a Jew and a believer in God, denied any such thoughts of mankind having "free will," contrary to the belief of most "theologians" today. So what does the Word of God have to say on this subject? Plenty! In this article we shall examine several passages from the Holy Scriptures that emphatically deny what is being taught worldwide concerning man's "free will" and his ability to either choose or to reject Christ.
WHAT IS FREE WILL?
According to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition (p. 465), the term "free will" means:
- voluntary choice or decision < I do this of my own free will >
- freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or divine intervention
So the million-dollar question is this: Does God allow humans the freedom to choose for themselves, or have all of their "choices" been predetermined?
QUESTION: Could Judas have chosen of his own free will to remain loyal to Christ?
PROPHECY: Psalm 41:9
FULFILLED: John 13:18; 17:12
PROPHECY: Zechariah 11:12,13
FULFILLED: Matthew 27:3-10
PROPHECY: Psalm 109:8
FULFILLED: Acts 1:26 (Matthias chosen by men, Paul later chosen by God)
In the case of Judas Iscariot his destiny was foretold in the Scriptures; therefore, God had to influence his decision making process in order to bring to fruition the ancient prophecies concerning him. Moreover, it was Christ Himself who chose His betrayer:
"Did I not chose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?" (John 6:70)
It doesn't sound to me like Judas had much choice in the matter.
"Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition [or instruction], upon whom the ends of the ages have come." (I Corinthians 10:11)
Here are 35 examples from God's Word that clearly refute this "free will" concept:
II Chronicles 18:19-22 "And the LORD said, 'Who will persuade Ahab king of Israel to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?' So one spoke in this manner, and another in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood up before the LORD and said, 'I will persuade him.' The LORD said to him, 'In what way?' So he said, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And the LORD said, 'You shall persuade him and also prevail; go out and do so. Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you."
In this story, King Ahab was persuaded by his false prophets to go to war, which resulted in disaster. Did you notice who it was who put the lying spirits in the mouths of all of his prophets?
Amos 3:6 "Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?" (KJV)
Isaiah 45:7 "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." (KJV)
Isaiah 13:11 "And I have appointed on the world evil, And on the wicked their iniquity, And have caused to cease the excellency of the proud, And the excellency of the terrible I make low." (Young's Literal Translation)
Despite the common misconception that it is man (either through his wickedness or his unbelief) who brings evil upon himself, God's Word clearly says otherwise.
Job 14:5 "Since [man's] days are determined, the number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass."
Despite our advances in modern science and technology, God has numbered our days.
Psalm 139:16 "Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them."
He directs our very steps:
Proverbs 20:24 "A man's steps are of the LORD; how then can a man understand his own way?"
Jeremiah 10:23 "O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps."
Job 23:13,14 "But He is unique, and who can make Him change? And whatever His soul desires, that He does. For He performs what is appointed for me, and many such things are with Him."
He has purposed to perform His will and to do all His pleasure:
Romans 11:36 "For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things..."
Acts 15:18 "Known to God from eternity are all His works."
Job 42:2 "I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You."
Isaiah 46:10 "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."
Daniel 4:32,35 "...the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand..."
Acts 4:28 "They gathered to do everything that you, by your power and will, had already decided would take place." (Today's English Version)
Ephesians 1:11 "In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will."
We are all in the hands of the Great Potter, who is molding each and every one of us according to His will and according to His good pleasure.
Jeremiah 18:6 "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?" says the LORD. "Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel."
It is God who hardens the heart. (Need I remind anyone of the Exodus story?)
Proverbs 21:1 "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes."
Isaiah 63:17 "O LORD, why have You made us stray from Your ways, and hardened our heart from Your fear?"
He even puts words in our mouths:
Proverbs 16:1 "The preparations of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD."
He has chosen to make some vessels for honor:
Acts 22:14 "The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth."
Romans 8:29,30 "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."
John 1:12,13 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
John 6:44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him: and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 15:16 "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you..."
Ephesians 1:4,5 "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the pleasure of His good will."
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
Philippians 2:13 "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure."
II Thessalonians 2:13 "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth."
II Timothy 1:9 "[God] has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began."
I Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."
And some to be vessels for dishonor:
Psalm 58:3 "The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies."
Isaiah 48:8 "Surely you did not hear, surely you did not know; Surely from long ago you ear was not opened. For I knew that you would deal very treacherously, and were called a transgressor from the womb."
I Peter 2:8 "They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed."
Revelation 13:8 "All who dwell on the earth will worship him [the beast], whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
If you have not been chosen to walk the difficult to find narrow road [the way of life], which leads to the kingdom of God, then you will worship the beast.
WHO IS THE BEAST, AND WHO CAN MAKE WAR WITH HIM?
God recently allowed me the privilege of meeting with some Mormon missionaries. The reason I say that it was a "privilege" is for the simple reason that He was able to teach me several things in the process.
Briefly defined, Mormonism in a nutshell appears to go something like this:
- You must come to the belief that the Book of Mormon is true, and that Joseph Smith (the author/translator of their book) was a prophet of God.
- You must be baptized into the Latter Day Saints Church, which is God's only "true" church on the earth today.
- Maintaining a regiment of good works is essential in order to attain the highest glory in heaven, which they refer to as the "Celestial Kingdom."
As I began to study the Book of Mormon, one thing in particular really caught my attention. Besides the typical threats of hell and endless torment (which are great proselytizing tools), I soon found out that the Mormon "holy book" teaches that man has free will. Here is one passage that clearly defines this:
"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh [God's Word says we are born "slaves to sin"]; and all things are given to them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself. And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit; and choose not eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom." - 2 Nephi 2:27-29
One evening I met with a couple of their missionaries. I had made a list of about 30 passages from God's Word which refute this idea of man's supposed "free will," most of which we have already covered. As we were going through the list one by one, it didn't take long before they both began to raise their voices in protest, with questions such as: "Well then, why are we here?" "Why do anything, then?" "Do you mean to say that we are all robots?" Now if my interpretation is correct, what I really heard them saying was simply this: "If we cannot, by our own free will, choose to please God by our own good works, then what's the point of doing anything?" Now I realize that what I was trying to show them was some pretty profound truth, but to them, it sounded like utter foolishness, which is not surprising, for:
"the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (I Corinthians 2:14)
Spiritually minded men (and a few brilliant scientists) would have been able to accept these truths; instead, the carnally minded beast reared its ugly head:
"who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God [capable of making his 'own' choices]." (II Thessalonians 2:4)
The natural man does not want to give up his illusion of having a free will, for by it he attains his own righteousness (see Isaiah 64:6), with statements like: "I have accepted Christ as my Savior!" "I have been baptized!" "I go to church twice a week!" "I give ten percent of my money to the church!" Now many will protest by saying that it is their love for Jesus Christ that persuades them to do good works, and that's fine. There is nothing wrong with doing good works; in fact, good works are admirable! But the natural man has been erroneously taught that it is by his 'own choice' for Christ that has gotten him saved, whereas the Word of God teaches that God had already made that choice for each and every one of us from the foundation of the world:
"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." (II Timothy 1:9 - KJV)
I had to tell my Mormon friends that I didn't see much difference between their system of belief as compared with other systems of belief. All man-made institutions that promise salvation are nothing more than little Towers of Babel "whose top may reach unto heaven" (Genesis 11:4 - KJV). Listen to a parallel passage from the book of Isaiah concerning the King of Babylon:
"For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God... I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'" (Isaiah 14:13,14)
Although this passage [you will note the repeated use of the phrase "I will"] speaks first and foremost of a literal King of Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar?), it is also symbolic of all of us "little kings" (no beer pun intended) who have likewise in our own hearts said the same thing. The Book of Daniel quotes King Nebuchadnezzar as saying:
"Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?" (Daniel 4:30)
The mighty king, filled with pride because of the great things he had accomplished during his lifetime, was about to learn a tough lesson in humility. While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven:
"King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times [years?] shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses." (Daniel 4:31,32)
First of all, you will note that it was "they" who drove the mighty king from his lofty position. Now, from the text we cannot determine who "they" are. But given the previous examples in II Chronicles 18 and Job 1:6-12, I think it is safe to assume that these were unclean spirits that were sent forth by the LORD Himself for the purpose of humbling the mighty king.
Secondly, I find it extremely interesting that this proud man was made like unto a "beast" that was put on open display for all to see. And much like the prodigal son, who "came to himself" (see Luke 15:11-32) while feeding alongside the swine, the once-mighty king also came to his senses:
"And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever. For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand, or say to Him, 'What have you done?'" (Daniel 4:34,35)
After being humbled by God, Nebuchadnezzar finally learned the lesson that God is in control of ALL THINGS.
"So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy." (Romans 9:16)
When will the organized church finally get the message?
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (II Chronicles 7:14 - KJV)
This is God's exhortation to His people [Christians] who are called by His name. You will note that the first item on this list is humility. King Nebuchadnezzar first had to be humbled by God before he finally understood. All too often, people within the organized church will try to do these things in reverse order: first they seek God, then they pray and ask His help in overcoming their evil ways, and then they go to Bible study in order to learn the meaning of "true humility." And all the while, they are not able to see that the beast - their idol of self-will and self-determination - is still planted firmly upon the throne of their hearts:
"whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming." (II Thessalonians 2:8)
On the Day of the Lord, just as in the case of Nebuchadnezzar, this "lawless one" will be revealed for all to see. Those who are being called to be saints will continue to look for the appearance of the great world leader to whom they refer as the "Antichrist." Those who are being chosen to be saints clearly understand who this "antichrist" is. He has clearly been revealed in our time, and he is us!
"If anyone has an ear,
let him hear." (Revelation 13:9)
Comments/Questions?