The overall Scripture picture does not picture God as having preplanned everything that occurs in history. However, He has planned that everything will eventually fit into His overall plan when it is all over. He created every creature to function a certain way, and that way is the only way it will function best, and be pleasing to Him.
For instance, without faith, it is impossible to please Him—Hebrews 11:6. That obviously means that people who do not operate in faith (Bible faith, that is) are not pleasing to God. And, of course, most people either do not believe what God said about that; or do not care about what He said about that, or anything else. One big reason this world is in a big mess. Human beings obviously have a lot of influence on how history is shaped; and how it turns out in the end. God gave Adam dominion (authority) over the earth and everything on the earth. So if God does control every earthly activity, then man’s dominion means nothing. Thus, John Calvin’s deterministic version of predestination is erroneous! That means the teaching that God controls every thought, word and action of both men and angels is not Bible at all. Another for instance: In Matthew 24:20, in Jesus’ predictions of last-days events, concerning Jews fleeing from the invading Antichrist, He told them to pray that their flight be not either in winter time or on a Sabbath day. Their prayers could change the timing of that end-time event regarding the day; or even the season!
Well, what about the devil? What part does he play in the unfolding of history? And another question it is even more important to know the Bible answer to: Does the devil actually determine any outcome in history. Can the devil make human beings do what they do not want to do? And another: Does the devil have any impact on God Himself? God is not afraid of the devil, for the devil is no threat to Him personally. As one smart preacher has said: The Holy Spirit has no teeth marks from the devil in His skirmishes with him. You see, the devil is a deceiver. All Satan has to work with is deception, and God cannot possibly be deceived. So, there is no danger there. Moreover, the Creator knows how the devil operates too! Proverbs 21:30—There is no wisdom, understanding or counsel against the Lord. The maker of all things knows how all things work.
So, how does the devil get others to dismiss God’s instructions and heed the devil’s suggestions? He lies! But he makes his lies look so good. When Eve saw that the tree [which God had forbidden] was good for food, was pleasant to the eyes, and, was to be desired to make one wise, she went for it and partook of it. Then she gave some of the forbidden fruit to Adam, and he took it and ate it. That is how the devil operates in this world. It started in the Garden of Eden. The devil tried the same trick on Jesus, but Jesus did not fall for it. And God expects us to resist temptation just like our Lord did: God will not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability but will provide the way of escape so you do not have to fall for it (1 Corinthians 10:13). First Peter 5:8-9: Your adversary the devil walks about seeking someone to devour: Whom resist firm in the faith. Those two Scriptures amount to a promise and a command. Unbeatable deal! The devil is called the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4) because the human race voluntarily bows down to him by heeding his lying words. But the human race has no excuse for obeying Satan instead of God. More on man’s part next time. See you.
(Ron Craig is pastor, teacher and author of Christian books; and these articles. You may view all the books by logging onto www.livingwayfellowshiponline.org. While logged on the website you can even listen to audio Bible-lesson podcasts. You may also send your questions or comments to ronwritercraig@gmail.com)