The Paradox of Predestination
Greetings and good morning brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series
where we seek to explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years,
the heavenly Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them
with you. This morning we seek to understand the meaning of paradox of predestination.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Paradox of Predestination
"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, Chapter 1, Verse 4.
Brothers and sisters, the heavenly Father has predestined us to be with him in eternity although we
have free will to accept or reject this predestination. From our perspective, our existence in eternity
appears to be only a potential. From the Father's perspective, not being subject to time nor space, our
eternal existence is an actuality. From the Father's perspective, potential and actual reality both are
just as real and meaningful. In fact, they are one. Actual reality from the eternal perspective states
something exists now in the present, has always existed in the past, and will always exist in the
future, in terms of time and space.
Potential reality is the same, except that it has not been revealed in time and space. When something
is revealed in time and space, it becomes experienced reality. Potential reality is the reality of the
Father unfolding in time and space. And while in time and space, this reality appears to come into
existence slowly, no such state exists in eternity and infinity. There, it exists in all its fullness and
absoluteness. We, then, are apart of that reality. From the time space perspective, it would appear
that we were predestined.
But what happens to those who falter along the way, those who chose not to accept salvation? Were
these false starts that appeared transiently in time and space ever a part of the eternal potential reality
of the Father? I believe that answer is an emphatic No! The free will children of the Father who
appear in time and space but who are transient realities do not exist in eternity and infinity. In trying
to explain this seeming paradox from the time and space level, we must reckon with relativity.
When partial and incomplete realities (which we are), are compared with eternal realities, then the
partial and incomplete realities exist in relationship to the eternal realities and not vice versa. This
means that partial and incomplete realities are conditional realities. They are not eternal but only
enjoy an existence that is temporal. Thus arises the temporary realities of evil, error, sin and iniquity.
To demonstrate some temporal examples of free will creatures, let us consider the following. A
human being may create a temporary reality even within his temporal state. He may pretend to be
something that he is not. He may take on the false identity of being a doctor, a banker, or a lawyer.
Those who do not know him may believe this to be a true temporal reality, but eventually this reality
fails and exists no more. His reality becomes as if it never was, which in fact it never was. People
whose job it is to keep track of the credentials of doctors, lawyers and bankers know all along that
this is a false reality. Does that mean that they have chosen for him and ordained him to be a liar?
No, the choice was the pretender's, but since this was not an actual reality, it could not continue its
temporal existence after being exposed.
Unless we pursue the tract that leads to an eternal existence, the tract of the Father's will, at some
point in time and space we will cease to exist. On the eternal level, partial and incomplete realities
simply do not exist, cannot exist. Thus time and space insulate them from the eternal level, making
it possible for them to exist alongside the eternal. When a free will soul of time and space fails to
survive, he becomes as if he never existed. In fact, from the eternal level, speaking in terms of time
and space, he never existed.
Speaking in terms of eternity, he simply does not exist as a potential eternal reality. In eternity and
infinity, there is no memory of error and evil, no memory of sin or iniquity. So then does this mean
that the soul who chose not to survive was doomed from the start? From the finite temporal level,
it may appear that he was doomed from the start, but from the eternal level, he never existed to start
with. In declining to survive, the incomplete soul is merely confirming that he does not exist on
eternal level. In converse, the soul that chooses to survive, in effect chooses to abide by the Father's
will eternally is confirming his existence on the eternal potential level. Is this predestination? Has
the Father already decided who will survive and who will not? No, this is not the case. The eternal
infinite potential contains all that could ever be, but it cannot contain that which cannot be--a
creature who refuses to eternally abide by the Father's will. Such a reality if it could exist would be
a contradiction in terms. Since the free will souls of the Father cannot be anything but a personal
expression of His will, a soul who does not choose to be a personal expression of the Father's will
cannot and does not exist. He only appears to exist from the temporal point of view.
Summarizing: Even we who are time bound and space centered can create temporary realities that
exist for a time and as such are recognized by others until the same time brings about their
destruction and they are recognized no more. A mortal reflecting on such a matter would conclude
that those temporary realities did not really exist to start with. We call such realities lies. And if we
can create such a transient reality without creating paradoxes, then how much so for the eternal
Father. On the eternal level, that which may be unreal may be absolutely real on the time space level.
And this is my best effort of attempting to explain the paradox of predestination. But still it is our
choice, brothers and sisters. Choose wisely.
This concludes today's message on understanding meaning of the paradox of predestination. We
hope you find something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day. Until
next time, this is Dr. James Perry.
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By Dr. James Perry
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The Paradox of Predestination
