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The illusion of the "free will" of man
By Mahlon Wickey, May 2011
I believe that an all-powerful sovereign God is in absolute total CONTROL of the affairs of all nations and governments in this evil deceived world. In our "normal" human way of thinking we cannot comprehend the awesome REALITY of the existence of this all-powerful sovereign God, and also the awesome REALITY of the POWER of God that controls all the SPIRITS "behind the scenes" that INSPIRE the thoughts of man during man’s temporary sinful existence. Our very LIMITED minds also cannot comprehend just how HELPLESS sinful man truly is, and either this all-powerful God is in total control of the SPIRITS of helpless sinful mankind, or He isn’t! If God is NOT in control of HELPLESS sinful mankind, then that would mean this all-powerful God would be POWERLESS to abolish and defeat sin and wickedness in the eventual destiny of mankind.
We have got to understand that sinful man’s evil carnal heart and mind RULES the world during this present evil age. Either this truth is in accordance with God’s WILL, or it isn’t! If it isn’t (I repeat, IF it isn’t) God’s WILL for this present evil world to be ruled by evil sinful men then WHY does it "seem" that this all-powerful God is powerless to exercise HIS WILL to change the evil sinful heart of man? Please think about this.
Millions of Americans sense that they and their children are losing their freedoms and liberty; hence the "tea party" movement which is a "political" force that could be GOOD for our beloved nation. Generally people do not realize what TRUE freedom and liberty really is, and it does NOT come by people choosing this freedom and liberty on what is known as their own "free will" of choice. TRUE freedom and liberty comes from a changed heart and a state of mind that can ONLY be caused and inspired by an all-powerful sovereign God! It is believed that the WILL of man MUST be "free" from any CAUSE that would otherwise prevent man from "freely" choosing his beliefs and lifestyle. But is the WILL of man truly "FREE"? That is the question that will be addressed in this article.
Our beloved nation seems to have "lost its way" in the principles it was founded on, and it seems our elected leaders are helpless in passing legislation for the GOOD of this nation. Too many Americans no longer know what is good and what is evil, and cannot tell the difference in what are LIES and what is TRUTH. We are truly a divided nation that has LOST the art of good common sense, and it is NOT "politically correct" to talk about the lies and deceptions that CAUSE this division!
We also have to be "religiously correct" in allowing "other gods" (small g) to have EQUAL time with the "christian" God. This is WHY our "religiously correct" modern churches do NOT explain that IF different "gods" and cultures are "blended" together into one society there could be destructive results, and the rule of law would LOSE its force which would cause rebellion against authority. Our modern churches seem to ignore the NEED for true repentance; which is WHY too many of our people will NOT turn to God in repentance since they are willingly ignorant and deceived, and generally do NOT know "truth" from "lies", which is WHY they do NOT know how and what they are to repent of.
Our politicians seem to NOT care that there is an obvious DELIBERATE attempt to reduce this nation to the point of NEEDING a form of dictatorship to FORCE Americans in compliance and obedience. But we can all take comfort to know in faith that an all-powerful sovereign God has a divine PLAN for the GOOD of our beloved nation, but this divine PLAN calls for our beloved nation to FIRST experience "political" deceptions that INCLUDE the deceptions of today’s churches!
But this divine plan also calls for us to respond in faith to the "call" of God to qualify as "first fruits" of this divine plan; which in turn means we are to re-examine all "christian" doctrines, and that includes the doctrine of so-called "free will". It would be in our best theological interests to NOT have today’s "christian" mindset; which means we should reject ALL the teachings and the "growth" methods of today’s churches!
I am personally thankful of hearing that the doctrine of "hell" is now being re-examined by certain people in our church world, and hopefully soon other doctrines will also be re-examined. Recently I watched Bill O’Reilly on the Fox news channel doing an interview with Franklin Graham on the subject of "hell". Franklin explained that ALL people are given an opportunity to "freely" CHOOSE to accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and the rejection of Christ’s sacrifice is just as severe in God’s eyes as the punishment of torment for ALL ETERNITY in a place called "hell". Carefully read the link, "Gehenna" on my websites.
But Franklin did NOT explain that the vast majority of mankind were (and are) spiritually BLINDED, and therefore were (and are) UNABLE to make a heartfelt confession and respond to the TRUE gospel message. Franklin also did NOT explain that if (yes, IF) the full penalty for sin and unbelief is torment in "hell" for all eternity, then Christ would ALSO have to suffer torment in "hell" for all eternity simply because Christ suffered the full penalty for sin and unbelief in our place!
Bill O’Reilly made the excellent point that many people NEVER heard of the gospel message, so IF God casts these people in "hell" to suffer torment for all eternity then that would make a merciful God into a "monster". Franklin tried to explain that an all-knowing God KNOWS the hearts of all mankind, and this all-knowing God would KNOW who would accept Jesus Christ EVEN if (yes, IF) they had never heard of the saving knowledge of the gospel message. I could see that Bill O’Reilly was NOT at all satisfied with Franklin’s answer.
There is something tragically wrong with Franklin Graham’s beliefs along with the beliefs of most modern churches that believe ONLY a very FEW souls will ever be SAVED, and this belief is CAUSED by a major "christian" doctrine known as man’s so-called "free will" that this article will address.
Keep in mind, that an all-powerful God has the POWER to cause HIS creation of mankind to eventually turn out exactly in accordance with HIS WILL. So what is God’s WILL? It is (G2307), and means His intention, His desire, His pleasure, and His determination to DO what He WANTS to do for HIS creation of mankind! It’s just that plain and simple to understand!
Our modern churches generally believe in a sovereign God that is indeed ALL-KNOWING and ALL-POWERFUL; which simply means that there is NO force or power that could upset and thwart God’s WILL, and what God is determined to DO for HIS creation of mankind. But most modern churches do BELIEVE and teach that feeble sinful man has the incredibility ABILITY and POWER to indeed upset and thwart the WILL and desire of this all-powerful sovereign God! The incredible dilemma and IRONY of most modern churches is that they are "forced" to CONFESS that it is indeed the WILL and desire of this all-powerful sovereign God to SAVE ALL mankind!
But "free will" teaches that only a very FEW believing souls will ever be saved; which means that this all-powerful God is UNABLE to achieve HIS WILL to save ALL souls! "Free will" teaches that man has the incredible ABILITY to "freely" choose salvation WITHOUT this all-powerful God inspiring that choice! This means that this all-powerful God will NOT interfere with the WILL of man that is "supposedly" FREE from the WILL and desire of the CREATOR of man! This is absolute nonsense!
The "Free will" doctrine teaches that man has the RIGHT and freedom to choose his own beliefs and lifestyle, but it is NOT explained how and where man got this special "right" and freedom. This "right" and freedom means that God will NOT violate or interfere with the choices of all men including the choices of all wicked men. Yes, this evil deceived world is RULED by wicked men, but the incredible IRONY is that most of today’s churches believe it is not (yes, NOT) in accordance with GOD’S WILL for wicked men to RULE this present evil deceived world. They cannot allow themselves to believe otherwise simply because their belief in the false doctrine of "free will" does NOT allow for them to believe that God has PLANNED for wicked men to rule this world during this PRESENT evil age.
Our modern churches generally believe that "free will" is a gift from God to ALLOW man’s will to be FREE from any cause that would otherwise "force" man to choose his belief and lifestyle. This false concept of "free will" means that this all-powerful sovereign God can ONLY save man ACCORDING to man’s so-called "free will" of choice. Again, this is absolute nonsense!
This article no doubt will raise more questions than answers because the concept of "free will" is hard to explain since we all grew up influenced to NOT think "outside" of the accepted "christian" beliefs and viewpoint. We can all agree that salvation is the work of God, and can ONLY happen if man’s evil heart is CHANGED. But "free will" teaches that man can choose by his OWN WILL to be saved, and therefore man has the POWER to change his own sinful heart. Again, this is absolute nonsense!
It is the Holy Spirit of God that has the power to change the sinful heart of man, but "free will" teaches that man must FIRST exercise his so-called "free-will" to choose to believe the true gospel BEFORE God gives His Spirit. The "free will" doctrine has it backwards. It is God that acts FIRST! This is when people begin to have a profound interest in the Bible, or their personality changes, or they find that they no longer think, talk, or act like the average person. Or "something" tells them that Christmas and Easter is pagan worship, and they no longer WANT to worship the false "gods" of paganism. The point is, their so-called "free will" DID NOT CAUSE that change of heart! The Spirit of God CAUSED that change of heart and it is DEPENDANT on God (NOT man’s "free will") to create in man a NEW spiritual heart and a NEW mind.
Our modern churches cannot explain WHY mankind has to go through all kinds of evil and deception, and WHY wicked men "behind the scenes" are in control of our government, and the "direction" of our nation and also the world. These wicked men are INSPIRED to not only control our economy and the value of our money, but also INSPIRED to control our "informed" news media, and our political elections seem to be "rigged" for certain candidates, and our modern churches also seem to be controlled in what is taught as "christian" values and beliefs.
This is why today’s churches CANNOT explain WHY all manner of evil, wickedness, deception, sufferings, war, sickness, death, and yes, even major weather disasters and earthquakes are NECESSARY to be a major part of the overall PLAN of salvation by an all-powerful God. To say that a merciful God is the creator of evil and darkness (deception) would be the height of blasphemy for most believers, and therefore they REFUSE to BELIEVE Isaiah’s plain statements that say exactly that!....
Isaiah 45:7 (KJV) I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [things].
This concept of "free will" teaches that it is DEPENDENT on man IF he is to be saved or NOT saved, and that man has the incredibility "built-in" ABILITY and power to choose on his OWN where and how he will spend eternity. This concept of "free will" teaches that an all-powerful God by all means MUST NOT interfere with the so-called "free will" of man, so as to ALLOW man to "freely" choose IF he is truly repentant and truly converted, and IF he is very serious about his salvation. As if to say that an all-knowing God does NOT KNOW if (yes, IF) man will choose salvation UNTIL man exercises his so-called "free will" to be saved. Again, this is absolute nonsense!
The truth is, God ALREADY knows the deceptive evil heart of man, and He ALREADY knows his carnal feeble attempt at TRUE repentance will fail. The meaning of "repent" (G3340) has to do with thinking differently, or to exercise the mind and NOT necessarily to exercise actions, but of course actions will follow a changed heart and mind. The major point is that TRUE repentance MUST START with a converted heart and mind, and a spiritual force OUTSIDE of man MUST enter into the heart of man to CAUSE and INSPIRE that change of heart and mind!
The apostle Paul, a truly converted man, knew that he did NOT have the power to do what he knew he should. Carefully read and believe Romans 7:14-21. It is very obvious that Paul was NOT talking about his "free will" to choose since he was unable to perform what he wanted to choose! Paul did indeed have a changed heart, but sin still dwelled in his flesh, and therefore he was NOT ABLE to perform the good that he knew he should and wanted to do, but instead found himself doing evil. As Paul himself explained; it was NOT him (verse 20), but SIN that dwelled in him that caused Paul to NOT be able to CHOOSE what wanted to do. Paul’s will was NOT FREE to choose to DO the good because SIN dwelled in him!
We have all heard this saying; "choice is a beautiful thing". The term "beautiful" of course is in the sense that man gets the "beautiful" GLORY since man is ABLE to make choices that are FREE from any cause! But "beautiful" choices can go very wrong simply because they are CAUSED by circumstances beyond the control of sinful man! I want to mention again that the premise of so-called "free will" means that choices must be FREE from anything that would otherwise "force" choices so that man’s will is FREE to make his "beautiful" choices.
Why is a believer UNABLE to cease from sin IF he knows in his converted heart that he MUST choose to do so? ALL believers will still SIN in spite of their "beautiful" choices NOT to sin, simply because they still have sin dwelling in them (as Paul explained). Believers with "free will" find that they are very limited to LIVE by their "beautiful" choices. Yes, believers are indeed ABLE to make choices, but please understand; their choices are made by their "self will" (NOT by their so-called "free will"), which is WHY they are UNABLE to truly cease from sinning! Yes, so-called "free will" is INSTEAD "SELF will"!
But the "self will" of sinful man can be CHANGED by the spiritual POWER of the Holy Spirit of God, since it HAS to be God that gets the GLORY to change the sinful heart of man. The utter nonsense and insanity of the premise of so-called "free will" means that MAN gets the GLORY since he is ABLE to "freely" choose repentance and "freely" choose salvation by his OWN ability! Please understand; true repentance MUST be given and granted by God, and the correct faith and belief on Jesus Christ MUST also be given and granted by God. Carefully read, study, and BELIEVE Ephesians 2:8….
(KJV) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:
These are some very revealing words that DISPROVE so-called "free will". Saving faith is the GIFT OF GOD, and therefore it is NOT an EXERCISE of man’s so-called "free will"! Did you notice that saving faith is "NOT of yourselves"? In other words, it does NOT come from man’s so-called "free will" in choosing this saving faith. Yes, man MUST believe, but this saving BELIEF is NOT caused by the deceitful and desperately wicked heart….
Jeremiah 17:9 (KJV) The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Our belief does NOT come from our desperately wicked heart, but what INSPIRES us to believe is graciously given by God as a GIFT! Salvation is God’s work (NOT man’s work), and it was God (NOT us choosing by "free will") that "regenerated" us to be "born again" when we were dead in sins. Life is God’s gift, and faith is God’s gift. Again I must mention; we are saved by a certain faith which is NOT of ourselves! We believe by the faith which GOD GIVES and NOT by our so-called "free will to choose this precious faith by our OWN ability!
It is seldom ever explained that we are UNABLE to repent unless we are TRUE believers, and that God has to call (invite) us BEFORE we can be believers in His promise (Acts 2:39). Our modern churches teach that IF we choose to believe on Jesus Christ we will be saved, but again, this choice is NOT OF OURSELVES! But if we choose NOT to believe on Jesus Christ then it is believed we are doomed to spend eternity in "hell" in endless TORMENT! This is spiritual lunacy and insanity!
Is an all-knowing and all-powerful God just waiting, hoping, and "wringing His hands" up in heaven for sinful man to repent and believe on Jesus Christ so that God is then ABLE to save man from going to "hell"? What a ridiculous theory about a "helpless" God caused by the false teaching of "free will"!
I understand why the "free will" doctrine is so EASILY believed. It is believed that IF we choose to believe on Jesus Christ on our OWN ability, and live accordingly as best as we can on our OWN ability, then of course God would honor these UNCAUSED choices. But on this flawed premise we FAIL to realize that the Spirit of God INSPIRED this belief and choices IN THE FIRST PLACE, and it is God that HAS to get the honor and glory of the choices and efforts of believers. But "free will" means that MAN gets the honor and glory since it is believed that man by his OWN WILL has the ability and POWER to make choices on the FALSE premise that his choices were uncaused by God.
I have come to believe that all of our "good and evil" choices, and yes, even ALL of our "good and evil" thoughts do NOT come out of "thin air" (if you know what I mean), but are all INSPIRED by forces beyond our control! This is WHY man’s so-called "free will" as interpreted by today’s churches is an illusion, because this theory of "free will" does NOT take in account the God-ordained universal law of "cause and effect". Sinful man is CAUSED to be sinful, which is simply caused by the carnal sinful nature that man was BORN with; which of course was OUTSIDE of his control. But most of today’s churches DO NOT explain that the NEW birth and the NEW creation of a converted heart and mind are also caused OUTSIDE of man’s control!
The problem with the illusion of "free will" is that it puts an all-powerful God in a "hands off" position in the lives of sinful man. It seems that our modern churches never give it a thought that just maybe this all-powerful God has deliberately kept His "hands off" the vast majority of sinful man during this evil age.
Here is the scripture that "supposedly" supports the "free will" doctrine.…
2Peter 3:9 (KJV) The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Yes, it is indeed God’s WILL that all should come to repentance to avoid perishing, and "should" means that we "should" respond to the Spirit of God that will inspire us to repent (change of thinking). It is very obvious that the vast majority of mankind are spiritually blinded and in unbelief, and therefore will indeed PERISH during this evil age. So the question is; is the WILL of an all-powerful God IN VAIN since most of mankind will perish and NOT come to repentance? Is this all-knowing and all-powerful God "helpless" to achieve HIS WILL and desire if man does NOT choose to come to repentance? This is a major theological issue that is NEVER addressed by our modern churches! Sure, God is NOT willing that any should perish so why doesn’t an all-powerful God PREVENT man from perishing?
The very PREMISE of 2Peter 3:9 is that the divine nature and character of God does NOT allow for Him to WANT to see anyone perish! We should also ask WHY the creation was made subject to vanity, but NOT WILLINGLY (Romans 8:20). God was NOT willing to subject His creation to vanity for the SAME reason He is NOT willing that any should perish. Our modern churches do NOT explain that just maybe it is NECESSARY for the creation to be subject to vanity and corruption but ONLY for this evil age, and that it is also NECESSARY for unbelieving mankind to perish, but ONLY for this evil age. For unbelieving mankind to perish is not the END of them!
There will be a resurrection BOTH of the just and the unjust (Acts 24:15). Our modern churches fail to explain WHY all the unjust that perished during this evil age will be resurrected sometime in a future age. IF unbelieving and UNJUST mankind is ALREADY condemned for eternity when they die (as most modern churches believe) then what purpose is there for a resurrection of the unjust? Will God condemn them AGAIN? Our "learned" theologians do NOT explain that the resurrection of the unjust is to face the white throne judgment of works (Rev 20:11-12) to judge and correct the unjust for their GOOD!
The premise of "free will" means that man has only ONE chance at salvation, and there CANNOT be a second chance. But it is never explained that the vast majority of sinful mankind that perished never had a FIRST chance! The very obvious fact is that during this evil age most of mankind were (and are) UNBELIEVERS, and therefore did NOT have a FIRST chance! It is believed by most modern churches that this ONCE chance for salvation is limited ONLY to this time and day because of this statement found in 2Corinthians 6:2….
(KJV) (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 please read, study, and believe what Isaiah 49:8 says….
(KJV) Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; {establish: or, raise up}
Apparently in 2Cor 6:2 the translators misquoted Isaiah 49:8. Today’s churches that have the "free will" mindset interpret "THE accepted time" and "THE day of salvation" as NOW is the ONLY time and NOW is the ONLY day to be saved by the choice of so-called "free will". But there is a major difference in "AN accepted time" and in "A day of salvation" as opposed to NOW is "THE accepted time" and NOW is "THE day of salvation". So who do we choose to believe; the translators of 2Cor 6:2 or do we choose to believe the correct statement of Isaiah 49:8?
True believers are inspired by the Spirit of God to "work out" their own salvation (NOT work "FOR" their own salvation)….
Philippians 2:12-13 (KJV) (12) Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (13) For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of [his] good pleasure.
True believers know that they are in training for a future glorious USE, and therefore they WANT to build Godly character in "fear and trembling". They have REVERENCE (fear) toward God and they have anxiety (they "tremble") of NOT trusting in their OWN ABILITY to "work out" (again, NOT work "for") their own salvation. But "free will" teaches that man DOES HAVE the ability since he is ABLE to choose by his OWN so-called "free will" (uncaused by God’s Spirit) to "work out" his own salvation.
Phil 2:12-13 is all about God working IN US and doing HIS good pleasure, therefore God HAS to get the credit and GLORY for working IN US and God also gets the PLEASURE! It is the Spirit of God that INSPIRES believers BOTH to have the WILL and to DO God’s good pleasure. This is NOT talking about believers choosing by their OWN "free will" to DO God’s good pleasure!
True believers know they are NOT their OWN, since they KNOW their choices are based on them being bought with the very precious PRICE of Christ’s shed blood….
1Corinthians 6:19-20 KJV (19) What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (20) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
Jesus Christ told the Pharisees of His day that "the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20-21). The word "within" (G1787) does indeed mean "inside". But most commentators say "within" should be interpreted as "in the midst" or "among". But for what it’s worth, the Greek meaning does NOT mention "in the midst" or "among" according to Strong’s Concordance. Christ stated that the kingdom of God is INSIDE the heart of man, but obviously most men are not RULED by the kingdom. Jesus Christ identified the deceptive Pharisees of His day as "serpents" and a "generation of vipers" (Matt 23:33).
We HAVE to accept that Jesus Christ did indeed say that the kingdom of God was WITHIN these evil "serpent" men! I believe certain evil men are of the "seed of the serpent" to FULFILL God’s purpose for evil and enmity (hatred) (Gen 3:15); but ONLY during this evil age. God put in the hearts of all mankind the potential rule of the kingdom that can be "activated" by God’s Spirit. The "self will" (NOT "free will") of these "serpent" men is NOT changed since their power of choice is to NOT be RULED by the kingdom because their "self will" compels them to resist the rule of the kingdom so they can do their temporary (yes, temporary) evil and deceptive ways.
This brings us to the example of Judas Iscariot. The incredible IRONY was that Jesus Christ ALREADY knew that Judas was a "devil" (false accuser), and He picked him to be an apostle! Read and believe John 6:70-71. The major point is that Jesus Christ KNEW that Judas would betray Him, but He DID NOT warn Judas of his upcoming terrible fate, nor did He try to stop Judas from betraying him! It is very obvious that Judas was chosen and foreordained by God to betray Jesus Christ. Notice what it says of Judas in Matthew 26:24 using the Concordant Literal New Testament….
The Son of Mankind is indeed going away, according as it is written concerning Him. Yet woe to that man through whom the Son of Mankind is being betrayed! Ideal were it for Him if that man were not born!
That is the CORRECT wording, and should be explained in the following manner by the added words in parenthesis….
The Son of Mankind (Him) is indeed going away, according as it is written concerning "Him" (Christ was prophesied by God to be crucified). Yet woe to "that man" (Judas) through whom the Son of Mankind (Him) is being betrayed! Ideal were it for "Him" (Son of Mankind) if "that man" (Judas) were not born!
Jesus Christ knew he was going to suffer by the action of Judas, but it would have been "ideal" for Jesus Christ in a personal way if Judas had NOT been born. That is all this scripture is saying! Later it dawned on Judas what he had done, and he was so overwhelmed with guilt and remorse that he hung himself, as we all know. Talk about true repentance! Judas of course was NOT converted, but since he could not live with himself by what he had done it was the only way he knew HOW to repent! The Father forgave him as He also forgave the Romans solders (Luke 23:34) that were also foreordained by God to brutally crucify Jesus Christ. Please understand; this could NOT have been foreordained by God if (yes, IF) Judas choose to do this evil act on his OWN so-called "free will"!
This evil act by Judas is covered and atoned for by Christ’s shed blood (as all sin is), but all sin must be accounted for, and Judas will be resurrected to give an account, judged, chastised, and corrected (as all mankind will be). He will then know that the Father had ALREADY forgiven him when he did his evil act, and he will then know WHY his "self will" (NOT "free will") was inspired by God to betray Jesus Christ.
As we all know, it is explained in Exodus by several scriptures that "the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart". Over the years I have heard several theories how it could be explained why and how Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. Today’s churches generally teach that it would NOT be correct to say that the Lord actually hardened Pharaoh’s heart simply because it is believed Pharaoh had the power of "free will" of choice. Why not just believe the plain wording of scripture!
God INDEED hardened the "self will" (NOT "free will") of Pharaoh’s heart for the very reason NOT to let Israel go to serve God in the wilderness! These events pointed to the "spiritual" exodus of "spiritual" Israel OUT of "spiritual" Egypt because "spiritual" Israel understands the hurtful "plagues" of evil and deceit, which they can escape by serving God in the "wilderness" of this evil world/age! This very important history LESSON had to be in the total CONTROL of a sovereign God, and the correct OUTCOME of these events most certainly was NOT determined on Pharaoh’s so-called "free will" of choice!
Carefully study the "hidden" message of 2Thes 2:3-4….
KJV (3) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; (4) Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Paul knew that the saints would "fall away" from the truth of God. Who was this man of sin called the "son of perdition" that had to be revealed with this "falling away"? Many "teachers" of the Bible that are "learned" in prophecy teach that there will come a certain world ruler that will sit in the temple in Jerusalem, and will deceive the whole world into believing that he IS GOD. But is this what Paul was truly explaining, and what was the deception that caused the saints to "fall away" from the truth of God? Whatever this deception was it caused this "man of sin" to be revealed AS GOD.
He is also called the son of perdition, and Judas was also called the "son of perdition" (John 17:12); which means that Judas could also be called the "man of sin". This "hidden" message and truth tells us a lot in identifying who or what this "man of sin" truly is! This man of sin would sit in the "temple of God", and Paul identified that WE are the temple of God (1Cor 3:16-17), and His Spirit dwells IN US. It is NOT some future physical building in Jerusalem called the temple!
We all have the "man of sin" IN US (IN the temple of God) that causes us to actually believe we are AS GOD, therefore we have a special "right" to choose ON OUR OWN what to believe and how to live. This is the SAME deception that the "serpent" told Adam and Eve, and that they would be AS GODS (Gen 3:5). Adam became AS GOD knowing BOTH good and evil, or he became a "man of sin", and because of Adam’s sin ALL mankind inherited this same DEADLY mixture of knowing AS GOD both "good and evil"! Sinful man AS GOD believes he is FREE to choose by his OWN WILL his beliefs and lifestyle, simply because he believes he is FREE to RULE himself! Today this major deception is called the "free will" of man.
But this "man of sin" will be destroyed by the "brightness" of Christ’s "coming" (2Thes 2:8), simply because the saints HAVE to have the power of sin destroyed in the "temple of God" BEFORE they can be resurrected. The "coming" of Jesus Christ has to be IN US, so therefore it HAS to be the SPIRIT of Jesus Christ that destroys the power of sin; it is NOT destroyed by our feeble attempt by our so-called "free will" of choice!
Many believers today claim that this "man of sin" HAS to be an certain flesh and blood man that has special powers to be ABLE to do miracles, signs, and wonders to convince the world that he indeed IS GOD. 2Thes 2:9 explains that the "man of sin" does indeed come with all the power of Satan to deceive with signs and lying wonders (or miracles). Notice it is LYING wonders; meaning that they are a FRAUD! The satanic "man of sin" IN the sinful heart of man is able at times to produce certain "signs" (indications) in having the power to deceive, but the "man of sin" IN US is NOT ABLE to produce REAL miracles!
A modern church service has the POWER to deceive in causing emotional feelings that cancel OUT sound (reliable) doctrine. They also will rehearse "backstage" to produce LYING wonders of "healings", and are able to deceive with other signs and LYING wonders. But this is NOT to say that at times there are REAL healings done by a merciful God honoring sincere prayer.
An all-powerful sovereign God not ONLY has LOVE and will show and display HIS LOVE toward HIS CREATION of helpless mankind, but please understand; 1John 4:8 says specifically that God is (yes, IS) CALLED by the term, LOVE. Yes, a beautiful thing called LOVE is the very nature and character of an all-powerful sovereign God, and He has the POWER to actually do what He LOVES to do! Please understand; an all-powerful God truly LOVES to SAVE a lost and deceived world!
1Tim 2:4 very plainly says that God "WILL HAVE" ALL MEN to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth....
KJV Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
As this article has explained, our modern churches by their belief on the false premise of "free will" believe that God is UNABLE to save ALL men since ALL men did NOT choose by their "free will" to be saved. Most believers are compelled to believe that the word "ALL" cannot truly mean "ALL" (this is true of certain scriptures, but NOT in 1Tim 2:4). They of course will confess that "ALL" truly means "ALL" in 2Peter 3:9, which says that "ALL" should come to repentance. But when it comes to God saving ALL men their views suddenly change to mean only a FEW men. This hypocritical mindset is all caused by believing in the false doctrine of the "free will" of man.
In conclusion; we simply do not understand the POWER of deception that it has on WHAT we believe about an all-knowing and all-powerful sovereign God, and the POWER that deception can have on our personal lives. The Bible was written to be STUDIED! The deceptions caused by NOT studying has the POWER to cause us to NOT see (perceive) the Kingdom of God, and we might NOT qualify as "first fruits" to rule all nations with Jesus Christ for a "1000" years. But all these deceptions are temporary, but they are necessary for a FUTURE glorious PURPOSE, and they will all be exposed during a future age for ALL mankind to "look back" and know WHY they were compelled and inspired to believe and live out their lives based on what they thought was their so-called FREE WILL!
By Mahlon Wickey May, 2011
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