JD Abshire Supporter

"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.

December 13 2015 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Scripture Guide Supporter Evangelist Remolded by the Potter to share the Living Gospel

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.

February 08 2016 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Billy P Eldred Supporter

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.

June 10 2016 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Bruce Lyon Supporter Elder: Restoration Fellowship Assembly

Isaiah 53 prophesies God’s shocking plan to send his Servant to present himself as a sin-offering sacrifice, shedding his blood and dying so that humanity would be reconciled to his God and Father Yehovah, and open the door for their sins to be forgiven. Isaiah 53:6-7:

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD - Yehovah has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep, before its shearers are silent, so he did not open his mouth.

Here we feel the painful imagery of the Lamb of God who willingly suffers for the sins of the sheep who have gone astray. Just a few lines later, though, Isaiah joyously predicts the Messiah’s victory over death and ultimate redemption of sinners.

After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Assuredly, I will give him the many as his portion. He shall receive the multitude as his spoil, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:11-12)

Notice Psalm 2:6,8: I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain…. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.

Psalm 2 is a messianic prophecy in which God announces that he has anointed his true King, His anointed one, the Messiah. As God’s – Yehovah’s king is appointed to reign, he is “given” the nations as a gift. The people aren’t just his subjects, they are his “possession.”

A King Who Suffers for His Kingdom

What a strange place to find this imagery. The victorious Messiah of Psalm 2 seems to be the utter opposite of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53. If you read Isaiah 53:12 as being about God’s – Yehovah’s Servant being “given the multitudes,” these two messianic visions become one. First, the Servant suffers to redeem his people, and Second, he is proclaimed God’s true Messiah - King. The multitudes that he is given are the people whose sins he atoned for. In effect, he’s “purchased” them; they are bought and paid for by the blood he shed when he offered up himself to his God and Father Yehovah as a sin-offering sacrifice. It is because of the Messiah’s suffering that he is given rulership over the kingdom of God!

As much as it may chafe our modern ears to be called “slaves,” Jesus’ death on the cross did not just pay for our sins, it purchased our very lives; we are his slaves and as such, have become slaves of righteousness. If we’ve received him as our Savior and Lord, we place ourselves under his kingship as his slaves. We are his, we’re not our own. A slave obeys the words of his master, and as such, we obey the word that God - Yehovah gave to Jesus to give to us to follow and obey!

What does this mean for how we live?

This year as you celebrate the Messiah’s resurrection during the Feast of Passover, remind yourself of the glorious scene in Revelation when the “Lamb” of Isaiah 53 finally takes his throne:

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. They sang a new song, saying,

“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God and they will reign on the earth!”

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. … In a loud voice, they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5:6, 9-12)

May 10 2026 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report