God's foreknowledge and human free will coexist: God knows every free choice in advance, but He does not force those choices.
Before anything was created, God knew what every person and nation would do. His foreknowledge means He was never caught by surprise when Israel rejected the King and Kingdom, yet the people and nations were still acting freely. God remains sovereign and completely in control, but He has never made human beings robots.
Acts 2:23 — This verse ties Jesus' crucifixion to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God while still charging Israel with taking and killing Him — showing both God's plan and human responsibility.
Romans 11:2 — Paul says God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew, grounding God's dealings with Israel in His foreknowledge.
Scripture presents God's foreknowledge as real and personal. Romans 11:2 says God has not cast away His people which He foreknew. From the time of Israel's history, God's relationship with the nation rested on His advance knowledge of them. In Acts 2:23, Peter tells Israel that Jesus was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, and yet the same verse says they, by wicked hands, took and crucified Him. Both truths are stated side by side: God planned and foreknew, and the people still acted by their own wicked hands. Jesus' own lament (Matthew 23:37) pictures a hen wanting to gather her chicks under her wings, but the people 'would not' — showing that the offer was real and the refusal was theirs.
Les Feldick teaches that God, in His foreknowledge, knew before the world was created what every person and nation would do with His offer of salvation. This includes knowing that Israel would reject the King and the Kingdom when Christ came the first time. He emphasizes that God did not take away their choice; rather, He knew what they would do with their choice. That, Les says, makes all the difference in the world on the whole idea of election and foreknowledge.
No. Peter told the nation they had taken and crucified the Lord, but this was according to God's determinate counsel and foreknowledge (Acts 2:23). Les says the Godhead had determined before creation to create and bring the human race, knowing the human race would sin and need a Redeemer. When Christ came, Israel was given the opportunity to have the King and the Kingdom, but God already knew in His foreknowledge that they would reject it.
Les repeatedly says God has never made men or governments robots. God set the whole system of humanity in motion and gave men and nations their free will, yet everything falls into place according to God's timetable. Foreknowledge means God knew every person's response before they made it, not that He forced the response. People and nations still exercise real choice.
From Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God knew what Israel would do. He brought the little nation onto the scene knowing they would reject the King and Kingdom. Because of His foreknowledge, God was never caught by surprise by Israel's disobedience; their rejection was preordained within His purposes, and yet they were free to accept or reject Him.
Les admits it is one of the hardest things to put together, and he no longer tries to explain how both are true. He says there is a fine line between the sovereignty of God and the free will of man, and it is hard to define them without crossing over. He concludes that God is sovereign, omniscient, and absolutely in control of everything, yet He lets men and nations exercise a free will.
Jesus' Lament over Israel
Les uses the picture of a hen sheltering her chicks from a storm to explain that Jesus wanted to protect Israel throughout its history, but one chick was lost — showing the nation could refuse His care.
God Foreknew Israel's Rejection
Les teaches that nothing Israel did caught God by surprise because it was all according to His foreknowledge, and he describes the difficulty of reconciling human free will with God's sovereign plan.
Foreknowledge and Choice
Les teaches that God knew what every person and nation would do with His offer of salvation, but that God did not take away their choice — He simply knew what they would do with it.
Before the World Was Created
Les teaches that before the world was ever created, God knew what each person would do with the gospel, and that the sovereign God is in complete control of every individual and empire.
Sovereignty and Free Will
Les teaches that God is absolutely sovereign and has laid out human history in advance, yet He has never taken free will away from man to accomplish His purposes.
The Godhead's Pre-Plan
Les teaches that God determined before creation to create the human race knowing it would sin, and when Christ came the first time, God already knew Israel would reject the King and the Kingdom.
No Robots in God's Plan
Les teaches that God has let men and nations exercise free will while everything still falls into place according to His timetable, and that God has never made human beings robots.
Acts 2:23 in Peter's Accusation
Les teaches that Peter's accusation against Israel rested on God's determinate counsel and foreknowledge: the nation did not take God by surprise when it rejected and crucified Jesus.
Romans 11:2: God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,
Paul grounds God's continuing relationship with Israel in His foreknowledge, showing that God's plans are never disrupted by human actions.
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 shows that Israel's crucifixion of Jesus happened within God's determinate counsel and foreknowledge, yet they did it by wicked hands.
Matthew 23:37: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Jesus laments over Jerusalem, using the hen-and-chicks picture that Les describes in Clip 0, showing the city refused His care.
No. Les Feldick says God knew what people would do with their choice, but He did not take the choice away. Foreknowledge simply means that before the world was created, God already knew what every person and nation would freely do.
Yes. Les says that when Christ came the first time, Israel was given the opportunity to have the King and the Kingdom. They were free to accept Him, but God already knew in His foreknowledge that they would reject it.
Les says this is one of the hardest things to comprehend and he no longer tries to explain it. He teaches that God is sovereign, omniscient, and in complete control, yet people and nations still exercise free will.
Romans 11:2 says God has not cast away His people which He foreknew. Les uses this to show that nothing Israel did caught God by surprise, and the nation was still operating under free will.
Watch the Teaching: Why Israel Rejected Their King — Matthew 23 Explained