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"Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of 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," (2 Timothy 1:8-9) "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you," (1 Peter 1:18-20) The word "foreordained" in the Greek is proginosko which is defined as: 1.to have knowledge before hand II.to foreknow A. of those whom God elected to salvation III.to predestinate "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:" (Acts 2:23). In this verse, determinate is the Greek horizo from where we get the word horizon meaning to define, mark out boundaries, to determine, appoint or ordain. The word counsel is the Greek boule which is simply defined as purpose. We also have the word foreknowledge which is prognosis Gr. meaning foreknowledge, forethought, prearrangement. "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (Revelation 13:8). If we tie all this together, the Bible teaches that Christ's death was not only known by God but was planned, devised, prearranged, ordained and orchestrated by the triune Godhead before the world began.
Where does it say that Jesus' death was planned from the beginning of time? And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Genesis 3:15 War is proclaimed between the Seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. It is the fruit of this enmity, that there is a continual warfare between grace and corruption, in the hearts of God's people. Satan, by their corruptions, buffets them, sifts them, and seeks to devour them. Heaven and hell can never be reconciled, nor light and darkness; no more can Satan and a sanctified soul. Also, there is a continual struggle between the wicked and the godly in this world. A gracious promise is here made of Christ, as the Deliverer of fallen man from the power of Satan. Here was the drawn of the gospel day: no sooner was the wound given, than the remedy was provided and revealed. This gracious revelation of a Saviour came unasked, and unlooked for. Without a revelation of mercy, giving some hope of forgiveness, the convinced sinner would sink into despair, and be hardened. By faith in this promise, our first parents, and the patriarchs before the flood, were justified and saved. Notice is given concerning Christ. His incarnation, or coming in the flesh. It speaks great encouragement to sinners, that their Saviour is the Seed of the woman, bone of our bone. His sufferings and death; pointed at in Satan's bruising his heel, that is, his human nature. And Christ's sufferings are continued in the sufferings of the saints for his name. The devil tempts them, persecutes and slays them; and so bruises the heel of Christ, who is afflicted in their afflictions. But while the heel is bruised on earth, the Head is in heaven. His victory over Satan thereby. Christ baffled Satan's temptations, rescued souls out of his hands. By his death he gave a fatal blow to the devil's kingdom, a wound to the head of this serpent that cannot be healed. As the gospel gains ground, Satan falls.
I have mentioned before on other topics (and probably will again) the video "The Star of Bethlehem" which can be watched (and I highly recommend it) on YouTube. The single thing I enjoyed most about this video is how through the use of "a stary night" which is a Napa computer program that through a mathematical formula allows users to view the heavens from any point on earth and at any time in history, the Author shows how the sky looked over Jerusalem during Christ time on earth. The events that take place in the night sky leave no doubt, at least to me, that those events and the corresponding events on earth were planned from the time that the heavenly bodies were put in motion. Nothing was left to chance. Jesus was born and died on the exact day ordained from the beginning of time. And of course, the Bible backs it up.
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