Wednesday, 8 July 2015

PREDESTINATION, what it means to you?

In ancient civilizations the world was thought to be inhabited by supernatural forces ready to act in favor or against the live of mortals. Observation and the outcome of the observation of the behavior of them meant to this mortals the predestination of future events based on the signs revealed by them.
It was as foretelling a conditional future, rather than one that was irrevocable.
These supernatural forces were governed by an assembly of gods that convened to decide their use on the course of worldly affairs and the fate of its population. Their decisions were then passed on to human beings in the form of predictions, auspicious ones as a signs of consent, and inauspicious ones as warnings of impending disaster.
These decisions were not irrevocable, one's future could be changed through the performance of ritual measures together with their sincere disposition of hearts to make an appeal to the gods on behalf of the person affected by the ill prediction, in the hope that his/her fate may be changed.
Predestination in its theological  definition is the affirmation that God has planned or decreed either the final salvation or the final reprobation of each mortal.
It finds its biblical roots in a variety of Old Testament and new Testament texts. God corporately calls the people of Israel to be the (spiritual) covenant people (Deut.7) and individually calls persons (Ex.3, Moses; Judges 2, judges; Jer.1, Jeremiah). Several Psalms also express the confidence, comfort, and wonder of God's election and foreknowledge (Ps.139; 115). In the New testament the several Greek words translated as "predestine," "decree," "foreordain," or "foresee" indicate a wide range of God's activity which centers on Jesus Christ as the only means of salvation and includes mortals in this saving plan. The classic texts include Rom.8; Gal.1; Eph.1; 2Thess.2. In these texts the background of predestination is the disobedience of the mortals and the consequent rebellion against God; mortals thus earns God's rightful condemnation.
However, God does not leave mortals bereft. The will of God is manifested in the election of his people. The implications of election, for mortals, are gratitude and service to God.
Election or reprobation is contingent on God's foreseeing how each mortal would freely respond to the Gospel. Each person gets what he or she deserves.

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