Does God Know Everything?

Question from Mary

12/25/2000

Hello, I have two questions for you, if you have a moment. My first question is,

Does God know everything?

If so, why does He put people that He knows are not going to follow Him, and go to Hell, on the earth?

Love, Mary

Hi Mary : ) You MAY know the answer to this by NOW, but ...

The Truth is, OF COURSE God knows everything. He is SO far above time and space and the limitations of our thinking and abilities, it is beyond our capacities to even dream of it! The entire universe is no more than the fingerprint of His index finger! And yet He knows and loves you infinitely. All the hard things and difficulties for you, in relationships and situations, all the things you desire, and the things that you are afraid of—even what you like to eat for dessert! Ohhhh!!! YES, He knows everything! And uses every ounce of His energy and His love for you and me to win our hearts to His Son, and away from any selfishness or foolishness that we would be prone to without Him. He’s wonderful. And more:

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His ever-expanding government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice.... The passionate commitment of the LORD Almighty will guarantee this!” (Isa. 9:6-7).

“Look, God is exalted beyond what we can understand. His years are without number. He draws up the water vapor and then distills it into rain. The rain pours down from the clouds, and everyone benefits from it. Can anyone really understand the spreading of the clouds and the thunder that rolls forth from heaven? See how he spreads the lightning around him and how it lights up the depths of the sea. By his mighty acts he governs the people, giving them food in abundance. He fills his hands with lightning bolts. He hurls each at its target. The thunder announces his presence; the storm announces his indignant anger.

“My heart pounds as I think of this. It leaps within me. Listen carefully to the thunder of God’s voice as it rolls from his mouth. It rolls across the heavens, and his lightning flashes out in every direction. Then comes the roaring of the thunder—the tremendous voice of his majesty. He does not restrain the thunder when he speaks. God’s voice is glorious in the thunder. We cannot comprehend the greatness of his power.

“He directs the snow to fall on the earth and tells the rain to pour down. Everyone stops working at such a time so they can recognize his power. The wild animals hide in the rocks or in their dens. The stormy wind comes from its chamber, and the driving winds bring the cold. God’s breath sends the ice, freezing wide expanses of water. He loads the clouds with moisture, and they flash with his lightning. The clouds turn around and around under his direction. They do whatever he commands throughout the earth. He causes things to happen on earth, either to teach us, or as a sign of his unfailing love” (Job 36:26-37:5).

Oh!!! He doesn’t miss a thing!! And it’s all for you and for me, and for all who will turn towards Him and fall in love with Him!

And I’ll give you the short answer to your second question. : ) God “created the Destroyer to destroy” and there are “ignoble vessels” in the House, and “all things work together for the Good” and God placed all things under Jesus’ feet (gave Him ALL authority) “FOR THE CHURCH.” “LET the wheat and the weeds grow up together in the world (not in the CHURCH, according to Jesus, but in the world), and the Angels will separate them at Judgment” (Mat. 13). “And your Faith, REFINED AS BY FIRE....”

O.K., now consider the above, and a hundred Scriptures like these, and here’s what happens. GOD knows all things, BUT even the BAD things and BAD people SERVE A PURPOSE, for the Church, designed by God! What people God knows will never CHOOSE HIM, He still allows to serve a Purpose here, even against their knowledge! He uses ALL things to REFINE us and strengthen us, just as when “He led them into the wilderness to be tested, to find out what was in their hearts,” and “These are the enemies that the Lord left to test all those of His People who had not experienced battle. He did this only to teach warfare to His People who had no battle experience” (Judges 3:1-2).

IF you consider that HE WORKS ALL THINGS FOR HIS PURPOSES FOR HIS CHURCH, then even those that choose to be His Enemies are STILL used by Him to test and refine and train and expose the pretenders amongst God’s People! He is preparing us to be an “equal yoke” for His Son, and He uses His enemies and those that reject Him—against themselves and FOR His People and Purposes!

Pretty Cool, huh??!!

Love,

____________

Question from Tom regarding Mary’s question...

Wouldn’t you also think that God sometimes chooses not to know? He does want everyone to repent and so be saved. So it might make sense that He doesn’t always want to know, but we know that He can if He chooses.

Hezekiah could be one of those times that God chose not to know and he changed God’s mind. Isaiah did say to him, “Put your house in order because you are going to die....”

And the Lord has compassion on all He has made (Psa. 145:9). I can understand that God does use certain people at certain times, but wouldn’t there at least be a time that He does have compassion on that person? He used Pharaoh for a time, and even me before I was saved. And scripture does support this view. I just didn’t see Mary’s answer as some hope for maybe a loved one.

____________

Answer.........

Would He have “compassion” on a person that He has said would be condemned, by His Word? No. He IS the Word, and is not like a man who lies. Jn. 12:48 says that His Word is the final issue and Judge, not human reason or external issues of emotion. As for Hezekiah, OF COURSE He can change His mind if someone repents, which is not to change His mind at all. That was the condition, and His Words were a reflection of the current condition, and a reflection of what they could understand, as well as a Guide and Test for them, past their comprehension of what they THINK He has said, or THINK He may mean. “Chooses not to know?” No. That’s not it, based on a zillion other factors I could mention... But, trust me, that’s not the deal. It is related more to man’s PERCEPTION, than it is God’s choosing not to know. I’m not sure that it is that big of a deal, though... so that’s probably enough.

My note didn’t in any way reflect on “a loved one’s” ability to repent and come to Jesus at any given point. It is only about those that never choose to do so, and Father knows the end from the beginning, as the Alpha AND the Omega... and He KNOWS what they decided. We don’t know what they will decide. So, there certainly is no reason to not pray fervently and lay the Truths of Jesus before them as if they WILL repent! That’s the Seed. If they DO, fantastic. If they never do, God did NOT “pre-program” them to not do so. That is very easy to establish in the Teachings of Jesus and Paul and John—He only USES events and circumstances that He is Sovereign over, and the OVERALL PICTURE is Decided, but any given person’s Destiny, whether Heaven or Hell, is NEVER “predestined” or “predetermined” without our participation. While He doesn’t PRE-DECIDE a person’s Eternal destiny, He KNOWS, and works it into the Tapestry “for the Church” either Way. THAT is “predestined” to happen!! This is, in fact, quite clearly portrayed in the Book of Romans—if one reads the book in CONTEXT. Paul begins the discussion of this issue in chapter 2 and carries it on through to the end of ch. 11. “Pharaoh” and “Esau” are easily understood in CONTEXT, but are frequently misunderstood and misrepresented as “pre-programmed DESTINY” rather than “pre-programmed PARTICIPATION” in God’s Plan, when “verse plucked” from the rest of the Book. ANYWAY... : ) Hope for the “loved one”... springs Eternal. Sow the Seeds! : )

Good night........

Love,