Tag Archives: Prophecy

GOD’S FOREKNOWLEDGE: WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

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GOD’S FOREKNOWLEDGE: WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? JACK COTTRELL – JUNE 2016 My adult Bible study class (First Church of Christ, Greendale, IN) has been studying the book of Romans. Today was our second Sunday on Romans 8:29, and our focus was the foreknowledge of God. Among other things I presented four reasons why God’s foreknowledge is an important doctrine. (It is just serendipitous that all four points are alliterative—all begin with “Pr–”.) I. PROPHECY. Generic prophecy is by definition any message spoken on behalf of someone else. One major kind of prophecy, though, is predictive prophecy, i.e., a message that … Continue reading →

God’s Foreknowledge in the Bible

Jack Cottrell Posted on by

QUESTION: Does the Bible teach that God knows the future? ANSWER: This is the question of divine foreknowledge. One of the main attributes of God is called “omniscience,” which literally means the knowledge of everything. As usually applied, to say that God is omniscient means that he knows everything. This means he knows all possibilities as well as all actualities. In the category of actualities, this means he has complete knowledge of the actual past, the actual present, and the actual future. His knowledge of the future is his foreknowledge. Divine foreknowledge has always been accepted by most Bible-believers. There … Continue reading →

The Cane Ridge Phenomena

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The Cane Ridge Phenomena by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 3:27pm I RECEIVED THIS QUESTION: One of the first events in the history of the Restoration Movement was the Cane Ridge [KY] Meeting in the early 1800s, where about 20,000 people gathered for revival. During this revival many strange and possibly frightening activities took place, described as “exercises” in various forms. Witnesses describe people fainting, barking, dancing, laughing, and ultimately “jerking.” This last exercise involved individuals with feet planted on the ground moving in strange ways, making large 180-degree “jerks,” i.e., touching the forehead and then … Continue reading →

Is the Bible Revealed, Inspired, or Both?

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Is the Bible Revealed, Inspired, or Both? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 1:56pm A RECENT QUESTION: “I’m going through ‘The Holy Spirit’ with a church group right now. I realize that not all of the Word is given to us through special revelation. Would it be fair to say, however, that technically all of Scripture is revealed since revelation is both specific and general?” MY REPLY: First let me refer you to my book, “Power from on High: What the Bible Says About the Holy Spirit” (College Press, 2007, 506pp.), which has a long chapter … Continue reading →

Is Biblical Inspiration a Proof of Calvinism?

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Is Biblical Inspiration a Proof of Calvinism? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 2:26pm SOMEONE HAS WRITTEN about a “Calvinist challenge,” thus: “I wanted to pass along a challenge a Calvinist has thrown down. My answer, thus far, has been that Scripture is silent on the ‘mode’ of inspiration, leaving the Calvinist with the same conundrum. I wondered if you might have a further thought on the following challenge:” “How is it that God inspired the Scriptures in such a way that every word—indeed, every jot and tittle—was what He determined? Every standard evangelical definition of … Continue reading →

Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 14:34

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Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 14:34 by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Friday, September 25, 2009 at 8:02pm A RECENT REQUEST ASKS, “Could you point me to some literature regarding Paul’s intent with his comment in 1 Corinthians 14:34 and what we are to make of it today? I am just now beginning a study on this and wanted a place to begin. Also, what is your take on this text?” MY REPLY: The place to begin on this or any similar text is at this web site: www.cbmw.org . This is the site for a scholarly evangelical non-feminist organization (for which … Continue reading →