The Prophecies in the Bible suggest that what had happened to Jesus have been already foretold by the prophets in the Old Testament.
Thinking deeper, if such things are destined to happen then everything is just a show. They are just like characters in a play doing their own respective roles. If this is the case then redemption is nothing but a stage play.
Fulfilment of the prophecies is contradictory to Christian teaching of human freedom.
So why did the authors of the New Testament made references in the Old Testament with respect to Jesus life?
This is an interesting puzzle. The answer is that foreknowledge and predetermination are two different thigns.
ReplyDeleteRevelations 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
God knows everything. He knows everything that has happened, is happening and will happen. However, Him knowing everything doesn't mean that He determines everything. For example, I foreknow that the sun is going to set later today, but I certainly had nothing to do with determining that fact.
God knew that people would do all of these thing that He prophecied about, but He didn't cause them to actually do these things. He simply knew what they would choose to do with their own free will, without preventing them from choosing otherwise. They could have done otherwise, but God simply knew that they weren't going to, and so He prophecied what He did.
God's foreknowledge doesn't determine our future actions, but rather our future actions are what will determine God's foreknowledge.
Jesus fulfilled the prophecies and the new testament made reference to this to show this truth and to reveal His authority.
I admire your sound questioning skills. This is commendable, truly!
ReplyDeleteI, personally, think of monotheistic religions as computer updates. When one gets all buggy (falsification of divine texts), a newer version appears; if the latter gets erroneous (falsification of the Divine word again), another version emerges.
Not to be preachy, how come people consider themselves Monotheists while they limit themselves to the Bible? If we are true Monotheists, then we ought to read all scripture ... the Koran being the latest in existence.
There had been several versions of the Bible, for example. How am I to trust a king to write the guidelines of my life, while he is likely to be led by greed and selfish tyranny? When many different people offer different versions of the same book, it becomes subjective interpretation, doesn't it? I'd like your insight on that matter, sir.
It takes an open mind and the will to question, both of which you seem to possess, dear sir. I applaud you for that.