1:5 KJV “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”
The answer is YES but it is very hard to prove. Predestination touches on truths in a way that most people cannot fathom nor would be willing to accept, though the Bible is really all about predestination.
It's about - who
is forever - and who is
not forever. I think that what happened in rebellion sealed many fates; and that people today, as we know them, must just simply live it out; else the below Scriptures do not seem fair:
John 6:44
44
No man can come to me,
except the Father which hath sent me
draw him:
and I will raise him up at the last day. (KJV)
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)
The irony.
That there are some that were to be born into their fate is clear:
Jude 4
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. KJV
My opinion, drawn from the totality of the Scriptures; and admittedly not able to be documented by any one Scripture alone, as would have been desired; is that certain were fated to work for satan, and certain were destined to work for God; and between these two groups lies the overwhelming majority of people who have choice and free will.
Those that I refer to as satan's, would be the Kenites; and those that I refer to as God's, would be what we (sometimes confusingly) refer to as
God's Elect.
NOTE: Please do not confuse "God's Elect" with
all Christians. And please understand that many times all Christians are referred to as
the Elect, but that within that group is a body of individuals that were afore-ordained to work for God.
Many people read the scriptures wherein it mentions "the Elect" and "the Elect Lady," etc., and suppose that this is not speaking of the general body of Christians, but only of a sub-group. This is an error. All Christians are Elect, but there is a sub-group of these Elect that is ordained from before the world began to work the purpose of God. The difficulty is in how to know when it is speaking of the main group or when it is speaking of the sub-group.
The bottom line is that God is fair; and that if there are some "who were before of old ordained to this condemnation", and there are, then it is because of what they did in the rebellion of the First Earth Age. What is the condemnation? Observe as the Master tells us:
John 3:17-21
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. KJV
Jude 4
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. KJV
Ephesians 4
4 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:
To arrive at the true meaning of this expression, we must note that there are two words translated "foundation" in the New Testament:
(1) themelios, and
(2) katabole.
The Noun,
themelios,
occurs in Luke 6:48-49, 14:29, Acts 16:26, Romans 15:20,1Corinthians 3:l0-12, Ephesians 2:20, 1Timothy 6:19, 2Timothy 2:19, Hebrews 6:1, 11:10, Revelation 21:14,19. It is never used of the world (kosmos) or the earth (ge). The corresponding Verb (themelioo) occurs in Matthew 7:25, Luke 6:48, Ephesians 3:17, Colossians 1:23, Hebrews 1:10 and 1Peter 5:10. The verb is only once used of the earth (ge). Hebrews 1:10.
A comparison of all these passages will show that these are proper and regular terms for the English words "to found", and "foundation".
The Noun,
katabole,
occurs in Matthew 13:35, 25:34, Luke 11:50, John 17:24, Ephesians 1:4, Hebrews 4:3, 9:26 , 11:11, 1Peter 1:20, Revelation 13:8, 17:8 and the corresponding Verb (kataballo) occurs in 2Corinthians 4:9, Hebrews 6:1 and Revelation 12:10.
A comparison of all these passages (especially 2Corinthians 4:9and Revelation 12:10) will show that kataballo and katabole are not the proper terms for founding and foundation, but the correct meaning is casting down, or overthrow.
“Consistency, therefore, calls for the same translation in Hebrews 6:1, where, instead of
"not laying again
", the rendering should be
"not casting down
". That is to say, the
foundation already laid, of repentance, etc., was not to be cast down or overthrown, but was to be
left and progress made unto the perfection.
Accordingly, the Noun
katabole, derived from, and cognate with the Verb, ought to be translated
"disruption
", or
"ruin
".
The remarkable thing is that in all occurrences (except Hebrews 11:11) the word is connected with
"the world
" (
Greek kosmos. Appendix 129.1), and therefore the expression should be rendered
"the disruption (or ruin) of the world
", clearly referring to the condition indicated in Genesis 1:2, and described in 2Peter 3:5-6. For the earth was not created
tohu (
Isaiah 45:18) but
became so, as stated in the Hebrew of
Genesis 1:2and confirmed by 2Peter 3:6, where
"the world that then was by the word of God
" (
Genesis 1:1), perished and
"the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word
" were created (Genesis 2:4), and are
"kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment
" (2Peter 3:7) which shall usher in the
"new heavens and the new earth
" of 2Peter 3:13.
"The disruption of the world
" is an event forming a great dividing line in the dispensations of the ages. In Genesis 1:1 we have the
founding of the world (Hebrews 1:10 = themelioo), but in Genesis 1:2 we have its
overthrow.
This is confirmed by a further remarkable fact, that the phrase, which occurs ten times, is associated with the Preposition
apo = from (
Appendix 104. iv) seven times, and with
pro = before (
Appendix 104. xiv) three times. The former refers to the
kingdom, and is connected with the
"counsels
" of God; the latter refers to the Mystery (
or Secret; See Appendix 193) and is connected with the
"purpose
" of God (see John 17:24, Ephesians 1:4, 1Peter 1:20).
Ample New Testament testimony is thus given to the profoundly significant fact recorded in Genesis 1:2, that
"the earth became
tohu and
bohu (i.e. waste and desolate); and darkness was on the face of the deep
", before the creation of
"the heavens and the earth which are now
"(2Peter 3:7). “ EW~Bullinger