FOREKNOWLEDGE

The Bible affirms the omniscience of God, i.e., the fact that he knows everything -- past, present, and future (1 Sam. 16:7; Psa. 139; Isa. 40:13ff; Acts 1:24; Heb. 4:13). One aspect of divine omniscience is "foreknowledge" (prognosis -- knowing beforehand), an attribute affirmed of God in Acts 2:23 and 1 Peter 1:2. A verbal form of the term is also found in Romams 8:29; 11:2. God has always known everything that will ever happen. The Lord's foreknowledge, as reflected in prophecy, is one of the major evidences of the Bible's divine origin. Foreknowledge, however, does not imply causation. The fact that Jehovah knows man's future conduct does not mean that he directs that activity. Were that the case, no one would ever be personally responsible for his own actions -- which is contrary to the explicit testimony of Scripture (Rom. 14:12; 2 Cor. 5:10). God foreknew the death of Christ (Acts 2:23), but those who perpetrated the horrible deed were responsible for their transgression (2:36-38). Moreover, if God's foreknowledge of events implies that he orchestrates them, and man is thus robbed of his free will, then every command to man in the Bible is meaningless, for the person could not do otherwise but to obey or disobey. The Calvinistic theory of divine "foreknowledge" is an egregious reflection upon the character of the Creator. See ELECT.