Yes — God's sovereign plan works through, not against, human free will because His foreknowledge sees every choice before it is made.
God, before creating anything, could look down through the eons of time and know exactly what every person and nation would do. Because He knew what would happen, He could plan for any contingency without ever removing human free will. The clearest example is the cross: men freely crucified Jesus, yet Peter said it happened by God's determinate counsel and foreknowledge.
Acts 2:23 — Peter's statement that Jesus was delivered by God's determinate counsel and foreknowledge, even while men freely crucified Him, directly shows how God's plan and human free will coexist.
In Acts 2:23, Peter tells the men of Israel: "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." The verse places the crucifixion inside God's predetermined counsel, while those who carried it out acted by their own wicked hands. Scripture presents God's foreknowledge and human action in the same event, showing that God's plan was not disrupted by what men freely chose to do.
Les Feldick teaches that the Godhead, before creating anything, looked down through the eons of time and knew exactly what every person and nation would do—this is what the Bible calls foreknowledge. Because God knew what would happen, He could plan ahead for every contingency without ever taking away human free will. Les points to Israel as the example: Israel had absolute freedom to accept or reject her King, and their rejection did not throw God a curve. He also says the triune God blueprinted all of history before anything was created, giving men and nations their free will, and yet after about 6,000 years the world is still exactly where God intended it to be. Les calls this a fine line between the sovereignty of God and the free will of man, and he admits it is hard to comprehend, but he insists God has never made human beings robots.
Les says no. God could look down through the ages and know exactly what every person and nation would do, but He never removed mankind's free will to accomplish His plan. In Les's words, "it wasn't that He took away their choice, it was that He knew what they were going to do with their choice." This, he says, makes all the difference in understanding election.
Les teaches that before anything was created the triune God put everything in motion and had it all blueprinted. From the beginning of time until the end, everything falls into place exactly as God predetermined. He points to Acts 2:23 as the place where Peter rehearses that Jesus was delivered by God's determinate counsel and foreknowledge, even though Israel and Rome freely carried out the crucifixion. God is never caught by surprise, because His foreknowledge lets Him plan for any contingency.
Les observes that since the Garden, God has turned over to human choice the exercise of free will—for individuals and nations. Governments make decisions, invade nations, raise navies, and produce air forces. Yet after almost 6,000 years of wars, famines, insurrections, and revolutions, the world is exactly where God intended it to be. He says everything prophesied about Christ's first coming was fulfilled in detail, and end-time prophecies are falling into place without God making men or governments robots.
Has God Cast Away Israel? Romans 11:1-2 Finally Explained
been talking about this from years and years back. And he said, nothing's ever happened. I grinned at him and I said, my, I'm glad you said that. And I took him back to Peter. I said, because you are fulfilling exactly what the scripture said. And I read him those verses.
Foreknowledge and Israel's Free Will
Les teaches that God could foresee every choice every person and nation would make, so He could plan for those choices without taking away free will; Israel's rejection of the King is the example.
Sovereignty and the Fine Line
God is absolutely sovereign and has laid out the whole line of human history, yet He has never taken away man's free will to accomplish it; He is never caught by surprise.
God's Determinate Counsel in Acts 2
Les points to Acts 2:23 to show that God has had a plan for the ages from eternity past, and everything in His plan falls into place even as men and nations exercise free will.
God's Blueprint Before Creation
The triune God put everything in motion before anything was created, with the whole plan blueprinted, and yet He gave men and nations their free will from the beginning.
Garden of Eden and 6,000 Years
Since the Garden, God has turned human choice over to individuals and nations; after 6,000 years of history, the world is right on God's schedule despite wars, famines, insurrections, and revolutions.
God's Timetable Without Robots
God never made men or governments robots; everything predicted about Christ's first coming was fulfilled, and end-time prophecies are falling into place according to His timetable.
Foreknowledge of Every Choice
God knew in advance what every person would do with His offer of salvation, and He knew what Israel would do, but He did not take away their choice; He simply knew what they would choose.
Acts 2:23: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Peter explicitly connects the crucifixion of Jesus to God's determinate counsel and foreknowledge, making it the foundational verse for the relationship between God's plan and human action.
No. According to Les Feldick, God knew what every person would do with his or her choices, but He did not take away the choice itself. That foreknowledge is why God could plan ahead without controlling anyone like a robot.
No. Les says Israel had absolute free will to accept or reject her King, but because God knew what Israel would do, their rejection did not throw Him a curve. It is part of what Peter said was God's determinate counsel and foreknowledge.
Yes, in Les's teaching, people and nations have been given genuine freedom to make decisions. The reason God's plan still holds is that His foreknowledge lets Him know every decision before it happens, so the end result always lines up with His purposes.
Watch the Teaching: Has God Cast Away Israel? Romans 11:1-2 Finally Explained