God has predestined some things; other things He will not and has never predestined. He wants you to understand what He will and will not predestine.

Predestination: The act by which God supposedly foreordained everything that would happen. God did not foreordain everything: those who believe He did, blame God for the misery and woes in the world. God is not to blame for the bad. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:17).

To foreordain: To decide by divine decree or intent. To be destined is to be bound with no way of changing. Some believe their destiny is determined when they come into the world, and they can do nothing about it.

To destine: Set apart for a certain purpose, to predetermine. Throughout the ages some have claimed that what is to be will be. John Calvin, 1509 to 1564, a French Protestant reformer, presented the damnable doctrine of predestination for a soul, a doctrine of devils and not of God.

God ordained—predestined—holiness before Jesus came, before the foundation of the Gospel that He brought. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love (Ephesians 1:4). He chose us in Him so that we could be holy and without blame when we give our hearts to Him. This He gladly did. He knew it would take a blood-washed salvation, holy blood from Heaven, to bring this about. To be blameless, holy before the Lord, mankind would have to be partakers of the divine nature. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will (verse 5). The Lord predestined whosoever-will of all races and nations to be adopted into the family of God, but the choice of accepting that privilege is left up to each individual.

The Lord will not predestine the course of a soul. He will predestine a plan for people, but that plan is conditional, as are His promises. Even nations have been given conditional promises. All the promises given to the nation of Israel were conditioned on their obedience to God. Although God brought Israel out of Egypt—a nation out of a nation—He didn’t get all the people to Canaan. Still, it was the seed of Abraham that went into possess the land. The Lord said what would be, and it happened.

In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will (Ephesians 1:11). This means that God works for people, gives His divine will to help them. It was predestined that we obtain an inheritance, that the Gentiles become sons and daughters of God, adopted into the family of God and made joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory (verses 12-14). This beautiful reading in Ephesians tells a great and wonderful truth.

God Repented That He Had Made Man

We do not live in God’s society but in man’s and the devil’s. Again and again man has tied the hands of God, limited the great God of the universe. Only a few have untied God’s hands and kept them untied so God could work. People wonder why God can’t do more—it’s amazing to me that God has been able to do as much as He has under the circumstances. God has made all of His power available, given everything, all His love—even His Only Begotten Son to save mankind from their sins—and He has nothing more to give.

But the Lord one day will set up His Kingdom for a thousand years—the Perfect Age—a Kingdom with no sickness, no dying. He will have His society on planet Earth before He destroys the earth completely, melting it with fervent heat. The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up (II Peter 3:10). God is justified in doing whatever He wants to do with the evil, wicked souls. He gives all a chance to recognize Him as Lord God Almighty or to reject Him.

God gave the Children of Israel that chance, but many chose to rebel against Him. Do you think He had pleasure waiting forty years for the Children of Israel to enter Canaan? It was a time of dying, of death, death, death. Possibly well over a million people died in those forty years; we have no way of knowing how many. It was not the plan of God. Nor was it the plan of God for sin to be introduced into the Garden of Eden.

Those who believe that God knew Adam and Eve were going to sin, believe in predestination. If God had known they would sin, then He would have to take the blame for the results of their sin, have to give an account for all sin that has ever been or will be on Earth. But God did not know, and He takes no responsibility for sin other than to give man a chance to change.

And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart (Genesis 6:6). If God had predestined that man and woman would sin, why would He repent when they did? God did not know, I say gain. At one time He was going to drown the whole human race because their thoughts were continually on evil, but Noah found grace in His eyes. As long as one person will look to God, all Heaven listens; as long as one person loves God, He will not wipe that one out of existence. God told Abraham He would not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if only ten righteous people could be found there, but not even ten could be found.

Before the Great Tribulation Period, God will take out the truly righteous and totally obedient in the Rapture. The moment the Bride of Christ leaves the earth, the seven-year Tribulation Period will begin, and the Jewish dispensation will resume. That dispensation was interrupted lacking seven years to completion, seven years that will make up the Tribulation Period. Daniel foretold seventy weeks, which we understand to be seventy weeks of years. Sixty-nine weeks of years of that prophecy, or 483 years, were fulfilled up to the time of Christ with one week of years—seven years—remaining to make a total of 490 years. Daniel tells us that the Antichrist will make a covenant with the Jews for those seven years. In the middle of the seven years the covenant will be broken. The Jews will realize the Antichrist is not the true Christ and will turn against him.

God has had to change plans, to use different methods of dealing with people. In spite of all the work God has done, all the love He has shown, He still is blamed for the wrong that man and the devil are responsible for. God has done no wrong. The devil and man did it all. The devil has blamed God so cleverly that most Christians believe him. They blame God for sickness. Sickness doesn’t come from God. There will be no sickness in Heaven. The Bible, remember, says that all good and perfect gifts come from God. As long as you blame God, as long as you don’t sanctify and justify the Lord your God in your heart, you are in severe trouble, in danger of being destroyed, saith the Lord.

Joshua gave the Children of Israel strict instructions about taking the spoils from Jericho. And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD (Joshua 6:18,19).

Because Achan disobeyed God, calamity fell on the Israelite people. God did not predestine Achan’s theft of a Babylonian’s garment, a wedge of gold and some sliver. No individual was to become rich from the treasures of Jericho. The treasures were to be used to later build a house for God; certain things were to be sanctified for God’s use. Achan robbed God, took the things intended for God’s house. God didn’t want to destroy Achan and his family, but deceit, sin was there; and to be rid of it, God had to kill the whole family and burn all their belongings. That’s what the Lord thinks about deceit. It’s dangerous to rob God!

We have come to the place now that much judgment will be handed out, saith the Lord, to people who are carrying deceit. God has been hindered and hindered in His work with people who carry deceit in the name of the Lord. It’s a separating time, a shaking time. The dry bones Ezekiel prophesied about are coming together now; the Jews are being drawn back to the Promised Land. At the same time, the children of God are taking their places in the body of Christ for this final outreach.

The Lord is going to have a pure Bride. No matter what it costs, there will be a pure Bride, saith the Lord. No matter how many hypocritical people the Lord has to eliminate, how many He has to kill, God will have a pure Bride, a Bride without spot, wrinkle, blemish or any such thing, a Bride who will be caught away with Jesus at His second coming.

If you have any deceit in you, you are on dangerous ground. I would be afraid to close my eyes in sleep in that condition, not knowing whether I would waken again. You don’t have the fear of God if you carry deceit.

In the past, God has given much mercy, but now we’re coming so close to the judgment of the Tribulation Period that God is letting us know He is using His left hand of judgment in a great way. We’re seeing judgment falling all over the world now. God means business. He is trying to get people’s attention, trying to wake people to the hour they live in.

Jonah Found Obedience Difficult

God didn’t predestine that Jonah would be swallowed by the whale. The Lord had sent him on a divine mission, and Jonah got cold feet. Had the Lord not expected Jonah to obey Him, He wouldn’t have called him. Some think that when God called Jonah He already had the whale prepared to swallow him. God is not a deceiving God, but a God of truth and mercy. Would it have been truth and mercy to have called Jonah on a divine mission but first have him swallowed by a whale? I think not. That would have meant Jonah couldn’t have done anything else but detour from his mission. He couldn’t have gone straight to Nineveh and preached to that multitude of lost souls. First a whale would have to get him. How absurd! No wonder God can’t do more with people who believe so wrongly. No wonder the Holy Spirit has been grieved down through the years.

The Bride is not going to grieve the Holy Spirit. She is the apple of His eye, totally obedient to Him. The reaping of the harvest of souls will be one great time for God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. What an hour of greatness!

Jonah failed, disobeyed God, and went through much suffering before he did what God had asked. There are a lot of Jonahs today. If it were not for the mercy of God they would be swallowed, too. In this last hour it won’t be a whale that swallows the disobedient; it will be the judgments of God. But unlike Jonah, many will not be delivered.

Jonah, in the belly of the whale, suddenly became obedient. He cried: I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD (Jonah 2:9). The whale spit Jonah out on the shore, and Jonah went to Nineveh to preach to the city, warn them of coming destruction. His sermon was so effective that the whole city repented in sackcloth and ashes.

After all the souls in Nineveh repented and turned to God, Jonah had the wrong spirit again. He had wanted to see the city destroyed. Climbing up a hillside, he pouted. Why didn’t he give God the praise for saving all those souls? Jonah was angry. Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry (Jonah 4:4)? Jonah knew the love of God, that He was gracious, merciful and slow to anger. Had God been like Jonah, the whale would have kept him.

In this last hour, people will not be able to fail God again and again and get by with it. The Lord will push them out of the way and go right on. God will have a people who will do His work, carry out His predestined plan of preaching the Gospel to all nations. No people of devils can stop this plan. The Gospel will be preached to all nations and then the end will come. God predestined the coming of Jesus Christ to catch away His own in the Rapture. He will come, and it cannot be changed.

What kind of God do we serve? We serve a loving God, a kind God, one who has given us the very best He could.

How Long Will People Provoke God?

We find the twelfth chapter of Numbers that Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses. For a time they had thought Moses was wonderful, but suddenly they imagined they were greater than Moses. The third verse tells us what kind of man they were speaking against: Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. When the devil gets into people, they start criticizing someone God is using in a great way.

And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow (Numbers 12:9,10). Aaron cried to Moses for deliverance. And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again. And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again (verses 14,15). Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses, but who was God standing with? Moses.

Moses sent out the twelve spies, each representing a tribe of Israel, to report on the Promised Land. And they returned from searching of the land after forty days (Numbers 13:25). Ten of the spies searched with disobedience; they searched in strife, in fear, and brought back a lie. Only Joshua and Caleb gave a true report.

And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we (Numbers 13:30,31). The ten spies did not give God the glory, didn’t keep the promises of God before them. Many today are just like them.

God didn’t say what would be in the land. When the ten spies told of giants, it caused the Children of Israel to weep all night and murmur against Moses and Aaron. Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness (Numbers 14:2)! They were to get their wish: all who were twenty years or older died in the wilderness—except Caleb and Joshua. And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt (verses 3,4).

God had promised them the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey, but they spit in the eye of God, rebelled against Him. Criticizing a true man of God is the same as criticizing God Himself.

Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel (Numbers 14:5). It was not predestined for Israel to wander in the wilderness forty years; they were meant to have entered the Promised Land when they first had the opportunity. This is an example of people failing God. No one is predestined to fail God.

Caleb and Joshua tried to encourage the Israelites to go on into Canaan. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not. But all the congregation bade stone them with stones (Numbers 14:8-10).

Joshua and Caleb had no deceit in them. People with deceit do not talk God-talk. Be wary of them. Observe deceit in those you may come in contact with so you will have no part of it. If you listen to them, you could take on part or all of their deceit, fall into the pit with them.

And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they (Numbers 14:11,12). God didn’t predestine that all would go to Canaan, just Abraham’s seed. God had started anew with the Noah family, and God knew He could start again with the Moses family if He had to. He would take those who would obey.

Moses pleaded with God to not kill all the people: Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness. And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken…And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word (Numbers 14:15-17,20). Does God change His mind? The Lord listens to a holy voice. His ears are open to the righteous. Be careful how you talk to God.

God told Moses, But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD. Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land, Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD. But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still (Numbers 14:21-23,27,36-38). The ten spies, so full of deceit, defeated a multitude, caused great sorrow as the Children of Israel had to wander in the wilderness forty years instead of going right on across into Canaan. Forty days of disobedience was the making of judgment for forty years. God worked the best He could to get all the deceit, all the murmuring and complaining out of the camp.

Since God raised His left hand with such mighty judgment for murmuring and complaining under the Law, imagine the judgment that will come upon complaining, murmuring people today who have trampled underfoot the precious blood of Jesus Christ! The Lord will push them out of the way. He will have no deceit, no grumbling, no criticizing. His perfect work, His perfect will are to be done. He will have a people He can work through: the Bride of Christ.

The bride will be without spot, wrinkle, blemish. No deceit will be in her at all; no little white lies will come from her mouth, no murmuring or complaining. If you have any of that in you today, you are on borrowed time, subject to be eliminated any moment. You will not get by, saith the Lord, in this last hour. The Lord will eliminate in different ways. Some people will just be pushed aside and never dealt with again because they have blasphemed His mercy, His grace, His love and His Holy Spirit.

The Bride will walk softly before the Lord, and yet she will be bold in the presence of the devil, in the midst of this evil generation. With all boldness she will speak; she will pray with all faith and serve with all love in this her final hour, wearing the shoes and the spiritual robe of Jesus.

Moses told the Israelites how they had failed God by listening to the deceit of the ten spies, how they should turn to the wilderness, how their carcasses would fall in the wilderness. They mourned greatly, but then they rose up the next morning, decided to ignore what Moses had said and walk on over to the Promised Land after all.

And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the LORD? but it shall not prosper. Go not up, for the LORD is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies (Numbers 14:41,42). Again they didn’t listen, and many fell by the sword of their enemies. God wasn’t with them; Moses wouldn’t go with them either.

When you miss the plan of God, you can’t continue as though you had not. You have to wait for directions. Some people say they are sorry for their disobedience, but they will go on as though it had never happened.

The Earth Swallowed Them Up

In Numbers 16 we read of Korah’s rebellion. Korah and two hundred fifty princes, men of renown, gathered themselves against Moses and Aaron. When people won’t obey God, they create trouble in the camp. God can’t put up with it in the body of Christ today, either. He has endured approximately two thousand years of failure in the Church, and now the time is very limited. Every day, every hour counts for the nations. People all over the world are reaching, reaching, reaching forth for the Word of God, and the Lord is reaching to them.

Moses was so sure of his standing with the Lord that he said, If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me. But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD. And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods (Numbers 16:29-32). Beside all those who died, the two hundred fifty princes were consumed by a fire from the Lord.

The same kind of devils still work today, trying to get people to lie, cheat, deceive and blaspheme God; but the Bride will be just as sure of her standing with the Lord as was Moses.

When the people saw what had happened to Korah and the princes, they murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying Ye have killed the people of the LORD (Numbers 16:41). The devil makes idiots out of people. Moses had told them that if God were speaking through him, the earth would open up and swallow Korah and his allies. Even their belongings disappeared into the pit. The people saw it happen, yet they blamed Moses for killing the “people of the Lord.”

In churches today, many pastors won’t give Bible discipline because people in their congregation oppose it. I don’t put up with such as that. The house of the Lord must be run decently and in order according to the Word of God.

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun. And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah (Numbers 16:44-19). The demons that take people over make them feel brave in their insolence. They don’t think judgment will fall, but what God has done in the past He will do again. God means business in this final hour. There will be many calamities. God said He has killed and He will kill again.

When He promised punishment on Israel, God meant just that. Study the years of wandering in the wilderness recorded in Deuteronomy.

God Wanted to Be Their King

God did not predestine the kings of Israel to sin, but the majority of them did. Only a few served God. God knew Israel should not have a king, that He should be their king—that’s how much He loved them. God wanted to lead them into all of His greatness, wanted to serve them well. It wasn’t His will for them to suffer. The Lord told Israel how He would stand by them, but it was a promise conditioned on their obedience.

God instructed Samuel to tell Israel the troubles having kings would bring on them, but they wanted a king anyway. Samuel told them how their sons and daughters would be slaves, how the kings would take over and rob them. Did all of that happen? Yes. When God says something, you can rely on it.

God yielded to the wishes of His people and told Samuel to anoint Saul king. God wanted Saul to be a success; He didn’t predestine his fall. Saul had much in his favor before he became king, a spirit of humility, a magnanimous soul. When the time came to present a king to the people, Saul hid himself. Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff (I Samuel 10:22). Some people savoring the honor of the situation would have presented themselves hours ahead of time.

What did Saul have to say about becoming the first king of Israel? Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me (I Samuel 9:21)? Saul began his reign well.

When Saul won his first battle, the people wanted to put to death those who had objected to his becoming king. And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to-day the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel (I Samuel 11:13). He was forgiving. But after a while, Saul changed; he let the devil take him over. God didn’t know Saul would sin. He hadn’t selected someone who He knew would be a failure. God isn’t like that. God had to alter His plans.

God had not planned to take a young boy from the sheepfold—David—to dethrone Saul. David never gave a thought to being king. These things were not predestined. Man and the devil brought about changes in how God dealt with man. Because He loves people, God has been forced into doing much that He didn’t predestine. He proved His love by giving Jesus. If you doubt that great master-stroke of love, there really is no hope for you.

God patiently worked to get Israel to serve Him because He remembered His covenant with Abraham. It’s a covenant predestined to be honored by God, and cannot be broken. Did God predestine He would bless Israel? He put before them a blessing and a curse. He was up front with what He would to. And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth (Deuteronomy 28:1). This is the promise that goes with the covenant, but it is a promise conditioned on Israel’s obedience to God. Heaven is predestined for the righteous, those who will live godly in Christ Jesus, those who will use His blood.

And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God (Deuteronomy 28:2). How wonderful to be overtaken by the blessings of the Lord! Some people look for troubles to overtake them, not blessings, but why not sit down awhile and let the blessings overtake you? Believe God.

This chapter goes on to tell the many ways the obedient will be blessed; then it warns of the consequences of disobedience. But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out (Deuteronomy 28:15-19). The Bible describes even more of the awful curses that will come because of disobedience. Study the blessings for obedience—read also the Sermon on the Mount—and the curses for disobedience that were to come.

Today the Lord still is saying, blessed are the obedient, but cursed are those who live in disobedience to the holy God who made them. God has spent time chasing people, getting them back on the right track only to find them straying again in a few days. The Lord told the Israelites, Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God (Deuteronomy 28:61,62). What a terrible thing—and man seldom changes from disobedience to obeying God! Many think they can act any way they want toward God and still get by. Not so.

God’s Saving Grace

Let’s leap from the Law to the saving grace that Jesus brought. In this dispensation of grace, God has given mercy; but we still find judgment for disobedience. In the very beginning of the Church, God killed a couple who lied to the Holy Spirit; and in the end of the Church Age, in the last hours, we will again find great judgment. The Church must be purified. In the beginning it was purified with persecutions. Men and women were martyred for the sake of Christ. Fear of these persecutions automatically weeded out the faint-hearted and the hypocrites. Although God will not necessarily purify the Church in this hour the same way, great judgment will fall for disobedience; He will hand out judgment to keep His Church purified, to keep His people a separated people. Hypocrites may fall over dead; many will never wake up to the truth until they wake up in hell. Judgment begins at the house of God—judgment has already started at the house of God, saith the Lord.

The Bible does not teach us that the soul is predestined for Heaven or hell; it’s whosoever will come to God, can come. If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Romans 10:9). Anyone can be saved; God limits no one. Confess Christ, accept Him in your heart, believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (verse 13).

But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people (Romans 10:21). The Israelites had their chance to accept Jesus, and when as a people they rejected Him, the Lord turned to the Gentiles. The apostle Paul became a wonderful man of God, taking the message of God to the Gentile people.

God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel (Romans 11:2). God did not cast Israel away: their sins separated them from their God. Your sins will separate you from your God, too. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). This covers whosever will.

The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all mne through him might believe (John 1:7). This verse is saying that Jesus came so that all—everyone—might believe through Him. Jesus told the disciples to go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). He who believes shall be saved. It’s up to the individual to accept or reject Christ.

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me (Mark 8:34). Jesus didn’t say just a certain few could come after Him, but whosoever will could come, those who deny self and take up their cross to follow Him.

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it (Mark 8:35). We’re not seeking to save our lives but to give our lives in serving Him. Daily we serve Him with our lives, presenting ourselves before Him to use our lives any way He wants. They belong one hundred percent to Him. We’re seeking to lose our lives for the Gospel’s sake because we know we will find our eternal lives with Him. God has predestined His children to live with Him eternally. That cannot be changed. These rewards are predestinated not to just certain people, but to all who will live holy, serving God.

The Bible is very plain. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive (Matthew 21:22). Does that sound as though we can’t change things? Does that sound like “whatever will be, will be” and we can do nothing about it? That’s Calvin’s idea, not God’s. Many have accepted the false doctrine of Calvin in place of God’s Holy Word. Prayer changes things and people. What you ask in prayer believing, you shall receive. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned (Mark 16:16). Everyone has the opportunity to believe or to be damned; it’s left up to the person.

Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. He that believeth on him is not condemned (John 3:15,18). Those who believeth on His shed blood, on His redemptive power, and accept Him as Lord, Master and Savior for their souls, are saved. But he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Whosoever will can believe on His name; that’s the reason we are carrying Jesus to all nations. The Lord predestined the Gospel would go to all nations. It will go. We give ourselves completely into His hands.

Questions and Answers

I want to answer a few questions that have been written in: Judas betrayed Christ for thirty pieces of silver, and it was prophesied before he did it. Why Judas? Was it because he was an evil man?

It wasn’t prophesied that Judas would be the one to betray Christ but that Christ would be betrayed. Peter was almost the Judas. By choice Judas betrayed Christ. By choice Peter, also, betrayed Christ, denying that he knew Him. But Judas sold Jesus out completely. The devil worked on all the disciples, and the person the devil could cause to fall was the one he used.

At one time Judas was not an evil man. This ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell (Acts 1:25). You couldn’t fall from the ministry and apostleship if you were never in it. Judas transgressed, sinned against God; in other words, he fell from grace. Judas by transgression fell that he might go to his own place.

The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God (Psalm 9:17). Hell is the place that has been predestined for all the wicked dead. Heaven is the place for all who die in Christ Jesus—or are raptured. You never hear anyone boast that hell is all theirs, but many jubilant Christians can claim that all Heaven is theirs. If you are lost today, all hell is yours—unless you come to Jesus.

Could Judas have rebuked the thought of betraying Jesus?

Certainly he could have. Judas had the opportunity; he was chosen as one of the Twelve, a part of Jesus’ ministry. He had power to heal the sick and cast out devils before he backslid. A special place with the Lord was his at one time. No one scripture is of a private interpretation.

And in those days [after the resurrection and ascension] Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry (Acts 1:15-17). The prophecy of David could have been referring to Peter. Peter at one time had gone so far as to rebuke Jesus, and Jesus said to him: Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men (Matthew 16:23). Jesus wasn’t calling Peter Satan; He was talking to Satan who had taken hold of Peter. Peter was on dangerous ground. Cursing and denying that he knew Jesus at the crucifixion, Peter had been a real candidate to sell out his Master; but Judas was the one who finally went all the way with the devil.

Now this man [Judas] purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein (Acts 1:18-20). The devil was able to get into Judas because of his love for money, and Judas carried his downfall, the money bag. The love of money has hindered many, caused preachers to fall. Judas probably volunteered to take care of the money, probably used the money for his own purposes after he backslid.

When one keeps sincerely trying to find the Lord and seems to get nowhere, does this mean that one never will find the Lord because the Bible says many are called but few chosen?

The Lord has called everyone to repentance. Everyone who will yield to Him is chosen to have His salvation, chosen to be adopted into the family of God. Jesus said, Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (Matthew 7:14). The few that find that strait gate are the few who are chosen because they chose Christ. The Lord will choose whosoever will to come to Him; He won’t cast out those who yield to Him. Not all are chosen because not all will submit to God—and so God rejects them.

Many preachers have been called whom God has rejected because they failed Him. Some people don’t seem to believe that a preacher can fail God. They think he can say, “Forgive me, God,” and that’s enough. It’s not like that at all. If God rejects a person, it’s final. Many are called for special works, and few are chosen because few will meet the conditions, few will really serve God, few will walk in the holiness of God and bow to His plan. Few are walking the love-road today compared with the multitudes on planet Earth. God can use only a few. Jesus said, Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat (Matthew 7:13). Many will be rejected by God, but He calls whosoever will. He calls all people to repentance. How many are responding? Few.

If God does not look into our future because have free choice, and He doesn’t know how we will choose, then how can we pray, asking Him to guide us and protect us in our future?

God will look into your future if you ask Him to, if you trust Him to do it. You have that right. I ask God to look into all my tomorrows, to do nothing for me today that would hinder my serving Him tomorrow. When I pray, I have a standing order in Heaven that if I ask for anything that is not God’s divine will, for God to not answer that prayer. Not God’s permissible will but His divine will in all things. His complete divine will is what I want. God knows that every time I pray, it’s for His divine will only. When you are the called according to His purpose and you have made your decision for Him, all things work together for your good. You own free choice, and anything you own you can give. Give your choice to the Lord. Give Him the liberty to look into your future, to choose your way, to take you on plain paths and to ask you to pay whatever the price may be.

God looks into he future of those who ask Him in trust, but He will not look into your future to see what you will do tomorrow before He blesses you today. He looks for certain things. He will put trust in you, for you’ve put trust in Him.

I asked the Lord to look at my tomorrow before I married Angel, and she asked the Lord to do the same thing for her. Was this marriage in His will? We had free choice, and we gave that choice of a mate to God. Lord, if it isn’t your divine will, we don’t want it. We don’t want your permissible will. Lord, if it’s your divine will for us to come together, to work together to bring souls into your Kingdom, reveal yourself. And the Lord made Himself known. He had planned our path together from our mothers’ wombs, but we had to be obedient; we still had choice.

Just because God has a choice for you doesn’t mean you have none. You can take God’s choice or your own. I had a choice in my teens to serve God or not. Until I was eighteen I chose not, but God had a choice for me to preach His Gospel. At seventeen I was in no condition to preach. The Lord had a right way for me, but not until I was eighteen did I take His choice. God let me know then that it was time for me to choose Him, or I was in danger of being cut off. God can cut you off anytime. He has that choice.

If you die in a disobedient condition, you will not get into Heaven. Do you think you have a permanent lease on life? Do you think you will live to a ripe old age? You could be badly mistaken. God cold let you die any year, any month, any day, any hour. Make sure you are ready to meet your Maker. When people have the assurance their loved one is on the heavenly shore of deliverance, then they can face death with joy that another soul has made it through, and now that one is well and happy.

Joshua told the people: Choose you this day whom ye will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD (Joshua 24:15). They made their choice; no one would influence them regardless of what they did. What will you do with your choice? You can choose to go God’s way every day, or choose to go part-time. You can choose to obey God in all things or just some things. The Lord trusts you much to have given you choice; how much do you trust Him? Do you trust Him enough to ask for His divine will and not your will?

Jesus took on the form of man, putting Himself under all the bondages of a human being. The devil tried to get Jesus to bow down and worship him. Jesus could have done it; had there been no possibility of it, the devil wouldn’t have been after Him. Jesus came with choice. He didn’t have to go to the Cross; He could have backed out. At one time the devil was a magnificent angel of God in Heaven knowing he had the choice to honor God or dishonor Him. He influenced a third of the angels to follow him in rebellion, and now he was working on Jesus. But Jesus rebuked the devil with the Word of God, showing us how we, too, can rebuke him.

Choice is one of the most valuable possessions you have next to your salvation. Choice is worth more than all the money in the world. You are never a pauper when you can choose all of Heaven, eternal life with the Lord, eternal joy, eternal happiness. No government, no tyrant, no man can take that choice from you. If you don’t use your choice for Heaven, then you automatically go to hell.

Every day you live, you have the choice of giving as much of yourself to God as you care to give. You have choice to speak the clean, pure language of God, a holy conversation, or you can use filthy words, cruel language. Some people claim to be Christian, but they put our Master to shame with their dirty words and filthy conversation. Some even curse and still claim to be righteous. They are not. None of the Early Church members used that kind of language.

If you are really saved, holy conversation is the only kind you have, the only kind God hears. You must have a clean, holy conversation to enter Heaven. If you think you can choose to use unholy words and not pay the penalty, the devil has deceived you; you will wake up screaming in hell. The demons have taken over your mind, leeched it, made you pathetic. If you are really saved, you don’t want to use those words, and you don’t accidently use them. The fountain of your soul is pure and clean. Even when the fountain is bumped it gushes forth pure, clean water.

God is with you all the time unless sin is in your heart. You have been made nigh through the blood of Jesus. Turn your choices over to Him: Lord, whatever you want. If you want me to have that job, I want it. If you want me to have that home, I want it; but if not, forget it. Some make their own choices, and then blame God when things go wrong. It’s awful to make God a scapegoat.

How can we use faith for loved ones to be saved if they have free choice?

God promises to save everyone who will surrender to Him, but He never predestined salvation for the soul. He will work in every way to get people to choose the right way, to choose salvation, to choose the way of the Cross; but God has not predestined your lost to come to Him. They have free choice; they can choose God or cut Him out of their lives. How can you use your faith and really believe for their salvation? Believe God to do everything He can do. It was enough to cause you to give the Lord the right of way in your life. Have faith that He can do the same for your loved ones. God works through faith.

Why does only the Father know when the Rapture will take place, not the Son?

The Son didn’t know it when He was here on Earth, but I’m sure He knows it now. The angels may now know, too, as well as the saints of God in Heaven. Human beings on Earth don’t know. The Godhead understood that the question would be asked, and it was not to be answered. Jesus could have had the answer, but God the Father in His great wisdom saw fit for the Son to not know when He was on Earth. He could say that no man knew.

People who predict the exact day of the coming of the Lord get their information from the devil, and it’s false. We know He is coming, that this is the season; but we don’t know the day or the hour. It’s predestined that Jesus will come again, and the Bride of Christ will be caught out. Jesus gave us the endtime signs and said, When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors (Matthew 24:33).

In a vision, I’ve experienced the Rapture. It was so real that it marked my life forever. People all around me going up were crying, “Hallelujah! Hallelujah!” They were so close I could see their eyelashes. When I came to myself, I was shouting, “Hallelujah!” as loudly as I could. I have lived and re-lived that vision again and again. If just a vision can be that wonderful, think what the real thing will be like! When it happens, I’m going to be going up. What about you?

Do You Need Jesus?

You who are lost and undone without God, don’t let your free choice deceive and destroy you, telling you that you can find Jesus any time you get ready. Some waited too long, and night overtook them. They thought they could find Jesus whenever they wanted, but not so. You can wait until it’s too late. Be careful with your choice. Choice can be dangerous or blessed, costly or rewarding. Choose to walk with Jesus, to walk all the way to those wonderful gates of pearl and go right on through, knowing you are home forever. Choose to reach out right now, Sinner, and put that nail-riven hand into yours. He won’t mind at all. You can find those hands today; they’re your salvation, your passport to Heaven. If you don’t choose the passport to Heaven, you will spend eternity in hell.

You who need Jesus, pray this prayer with me now: Oh, God, I choose Jesus, the one who died for me. I choose His shed blood to wash away all of my sins. I believe there is power in the blood of Jesus to wash away all of my sins, all of my sins. Come on into my heart, Jesus, come in!

If you meant that prayer, He has come into your heart. It’s your choice. Now you can walk with Him in His holiness and righteousness. You have chosen to be clean and pure, to have no ungodly words, to speak no deceit. If you do, you won’t be walking with Him. By your choice you have been made new to live in this brand-new world of righteousness and holiness.

You who are sick and afflicted, pray in faith believing with me now. I’m not a healer; I’m a believer. God is the healer. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up (James 5:15). Cancer, arthritis, heart trouble, crippled bodies—all can be healed by the powerful hand of our God. If you have a little disabled child, God can heal that one. Believe God with me now: Lord, I bring the children, the grown-ups, precious Jesus; I bring them to you now. Lay a healing hand on each one. From your gift of miracles, from your gifts of healing it comes: In the name of your Son Jesus, Heal! Heal! in the holy, all-powerful name of Jesus. Lord, get them completely well for your honor and glory. If you believe that prayer, the power went into your body or into your child’s body. Watch all improvements daily. Write and tell me about what God has done so I can rejoice with you. God did not predestine sickness or sin. All good things come from Him. Trust Him with all your heart and claim the wonderful promises He has for you.