A question on credibility...

[Nick_Loves_Abba]

I have alot fo questions concerning christiantiy. I was born and raised southern babptist, yet I haven't been lead to a straight answer yet.

According to the Bible, there are those who are born who are predesitined to hell, and those who are born who are predestined to heaven, correct? Here's where my question arises.

Why did God, in all of his glory and might, create a world where the majority were destined to an eternity in hell?

Look at it this way.

God created the the world, and the Garden of Eden. In this little Garden, he created Adam and Eve. Yet, in this creation, he knew they were going to fail, correct? And since he knew they were going to fail, why did he do it in the first place? Why did God in all his infinite wisdom and might, create an imperfect world where the childrem of the World were most likely destined to BURN IN TORMENT FOR ALL OF ETERNITY???

God is supposed to be good correct? Better than us mere mortals. Yet, me, being an imperfect mortal and human being, cannot comprehend sending ANY child I bear to an eternal tormnet, no matter how naughty he was.

My point is this, how good can God be, if he created the World knowing that MOST of us would spend an eternity literally burning alive...

 

[seebs]

Short answer:

No.

Predestination to hell was declared anathema at Trent, and is not unambiguous from the Bible. It is one of several possible interpretations, but creates substantial problems.

A more subtle question is that we tend to conflate "being Christian" and "being saved", so of course we assume a couple of things:

1. A minority of people will be saved.
2. They will all be Christians.
3. All Christians will be among that minority.

I don't think either of these is provable. The minority is the best-supported, what with the "narrow gate" passage.

As always, if you're having trouble with Western notions of Hell, the first thing you should do is track down and read River of Fire, which gives an orthodox, but non-Western, view of the question.

 

[jesusmysaviour76]

According to the Bible, there are those who are born who are predesitined to hell, and those who are born who are predestined to heaven, correct? Here's where my question arises.

This statement upsets me because never in my bible have I ever read that we are predestined to hell. This line of thinking would be a contradiction to God.

John 3:16-18 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever, believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

God sent Jesus so that we can be saved, so that we don't have to be condemned to hell. He says if we simply believe in Jesus as the Son of God then we have a spot. However it isn't that simple, we still have to live in light, but if we truly believe in Him, then it's easier for us to give up our evil ways so to speak. Of course we will slip up but we can always be forgiven. Because God also says.

"I will never leave you nor forsake you" Hebrews 13:5

 

[Rafael]

I have alot fo questions concerning christiantiy. I was born and raised southern babptist, yet I haven't been lead to a straight answer yet.

According to the Bible, there are those who are born who are predesitined to hell, and those who are born who are predestined to heaven, correct? Here's where my question arises.

Why did God, in all of his glory and might, create a world where the majority were destined to an eternity in hell?

Look at it this way.

God created the the world, and the Garden of Eden. In this little Garden, he created Adam and Eve. Yet, in this creation, he knew they were going to fail, correct? And since he knew they were going to fail, why did he do it in the first place? Why did God in all his infinite wisdom and might, create an imperfect world where the childrem of the World were most likely destined to BURN IN TORMENT FOR ALL OF ETERNITY???

God is supposed to be good correct? Better than us mere mortals. Yet, me, being an imperfect mortal and human being, cannot comprehend sending ANY child I bear to an eternal tormnet, no matter how naughty he was.

My point is this, how good can God be, if he created the World knowing that MOST of us would spend an eternity literally burning alive...

When men dabble with predestination and start judging for God, treading upon ground only meant for God, problems arise with false beliefs and insinuated condemnations that should not be.
Of course God knows the decisions, before hand, that all men or angels will make because He stands outside of the dimension of time and observes begining to end - if there is one, as He is the Alpha and Omega of all creation.
Here is the will of God: That all men would come to repentance and not perish. Anything beyond that is man trying to think as God. God knows all things and we don't.

2Peter 3:9 ¶ The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent.

Also, you are imagining God as evil when it is the responsibility of man that children die. Nothing is ever lost to God that He cannot or will not do perfectly in justice. Nobody is ever judged wrongly by God and it is only in the sinful imagination of man that God ever does evil. Children that die because of the sin of man go on to be with the Giver and Sustainer of all that is life and good. He is the Father of lights. Death entered in because of Adam's failure to heed God's warning, but God is the Redeemer who loved His creation so much that He sent His only Son to die for Adam's and our sins. God offers mankind life and a clean slate as far as judgment goes. I can't understand how God can be imagined as evil when He pays the price for our sins with His own life!

Ro 5:8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

2Co 5:19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others.

 

[Delta007]

Hey Nick_Loves_Abba,

"According to the Bible, there are those who are born who are predesitined to hell, and those who are born who are predestined to heaven, correct? Here's where my question arises. Why did God, in all of his glory and might, create a world where the majority were destined to an eternity in hell?"

The predestination of some people to go to hell is not taught anywhere in the Bible. In fact, the only place that predestination is really talked about (to my knowledge) is in Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus and a bit in Romans 8.

Speaking of which, I think that predestination only applies to those who have responded to God’s call of salvation as Romans 8:29-30 implies. For those who have accepted Him, He has predestined to conform to the image of His Son. If one accepts Christ, then they are predestined to be like Jesus when glorification occurs (after we die). People who reject God’s offer of salvation do so through their own free will and then it’s a matter of “reaping what you sow” and self-responsibility. That’s just my opinion at the moment.

Paul tells us that: God's unchanging plan has always been to adopt [you] into His own family by bringing [you] to Himself through Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:5). If you hear Jesus standing at the door of your heart and knocking and you answer Him and let Him come in (Revelation 3:20), then you are predestined to be adopted into God's family and to be conformed to the image of Christ.

I believe that God may know who is going to hell, not because He has predestined them, but because He knows us so intimately and through His omniscience and infinite wisdom can see how we'll react given certain situations and the Gospel message. In effect, God is like a 'third person viewer' where He knows what will happen but does not intervene to cause something to happen unless He so chooses. But people cannot blame God for them going to hell - it is a conscious decision on their part because they have free will whether or not they reject Christ Jesus - the only one who can and has the authority to forgive sins.

Then, I believe that the objection of, “If God knows who is going to hell, then why does He create them?” is countered by the fact that God created us with freewill and wanted us to love Him for who He is and what He has done for us – if He did not want people to choose to love Him, then He would have made ‘robots,’ but their 'love' would be meaningless. There is no relationship in coersion or without a choice and the phrase "I love you God" becomes meaningless and emotionless.

Jesus doesn't force Himself upon you or any one else, He is a gentleman and waits for you to respond.

"God created the the world, and the Garden of Eden. In this little Garden, he created Adam and Eve. Yet, in this creation, he knew they were going to fail, correct? And since he knew they were going to fail, why did he do it in the first place?"

Because He wants a relationship with you and with me! He wanted to demonstrate His love to us. You can't have an intimate relationship with someone else unless they can choose whether or not to love you! That is why He created us to have freewill and choose whether or not to keep in fellowship with Him or go out on our own.

"Why did God in all his infinite wisdom and might, create an imperfect world where the childrem of the World were most likely destined to BURN IN TORMENT FOR ALL OF ETERNITY???"

God didn't create this world 'imperfect,' He actually created it perfectly - no sin, no suffering, no death, no bloodshed, etc. We made a mess of it by saying to God that we wanted life without Him, that we wanted to decide truth independent of God. And, logically, when you turn your back on the life giving source, the natural alternative is death. God is giving us a small taste of life without Him - that is, He is giving us an example of what we asked for through our sin and rebellion ... life without Him.

I believe that God hold's people accountable for what they know, so in my humble opinion, babies who died or young children, people with disabilities, etc, who couldn't understand or comprehend the Gospel message would not be damned to eternal death.

"My point is this, how good can God be, if he created the World knowing that MOST of us would spend an eternity literally burning alive..."

Firstly, God wants a relationship with all men and women and this can only happen if both parties choose to engage in the relationship (that is, freewill). He is not responsible for people going to hell - they are because of their sins and their unbelief in Christ who paid the penalty for them. To reject Christ is to say that you wil hold onto your sins, and as Paul states, the wages (that is, what you earn) of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

Another point to consider: God showed just how much He loved you and how good He is by sending His only Son who humbled Himself that much not only just to walk in human flesh but to be stripped naked and have His blood shed on a Roman cross through crucifixtion (sp?) which was a very painful, long, and humiliating way to die and was essentially death by suffocation (sp?). His Son, who was sinless, bore your sin upon Himself and took the wrath of God against all sinners upon Himself so that you could be saved.

Jesus didn't have to go through that for you, but He wanted to because His love for you - the thought that you would be separated from Him for all eternity - was what kept Him at the cross. When you really understand and comprehend that, it's just like Wow. I stand in awe even know when I think of it.

Yet you still claim that God isn't good? God is that good because He has made a way for us to escape the punishment that we rightly deserve and wants us to trust in Christ Jesus and be saved. But He also respects people enough to give them free will and lets them choose for themselves whether or not they want to have a relationship with Him - if they do, then He will forgive them of their sins and give them eternal life, if they do not, then God will sadly grant them their wish and depart them from Himself for all eternity. And once again, since the soul is eternal, the natural alternative of living life without the life giving source is eternal death.

I think I've went over the main point several times to illustrate its importance. This is just my opinion, of course and other's may vary or be totally contradictory to mine.

I hope that this and the previous answers help you.

 

[Delta007]

I should probably say that this whole topic is incomprehensable and hurts my head just thinking about it...

 

[eoe]

There is no predestination in Ancient Christianity - it is an invention of the reformers and did not exist for the first 1600 years that the religion was around.

Also - that is not Southern Baptist, that is Reformed Southern Baptist.

 

[armyman_83]

I should probably say that this whole topic is incomprehensable and hurts my head just thinking about it...

I agree, trying to understand this and understand the Trinity will make your head hurt and you heart cry.

I believe God knows all things, if He didn't He wouldn't be God. Thus God must know who is going to hell and who is going to heaven right? Just playing devil's advocate.

 

[Calminian]

According to the Bible, there are those who are born who are predestined to hell, and those who are born who are predestined to heaven, correct?

Yes this is true for some schools of christian thought, but not all. The are two major schools of thought on this issue. Calvinists (adherents to the theology of John Calvin) believe men are predestined to everything that pertains to salvation. They actually believe we are predestined to faith itself. Arminians (adherents to the theology James Arminius) on the other hand believe predestination is based on God's knowledge of the future, particularly His knowledge of who will, and who won’t have faith. Thus, those whom God foreknows will believe, He predestines to salvation (justification, glorification, etc.).

So what of predestination to hell?

Interestingly, arminians have no problem with this as they believe God's predestination is based on His foreknowledge of what men will freely choose . He elects future believers to heaven and future unbelievers to hell. And there are many passages in scripture that suggest both.

Calvinists, on the other hand, are much more likely to object to the idea of predestination to hell. Since they believe God causes faith, and men can't believe otherwise, they feel they are giving God more credit for man's salvation. But the natural inference from this is that God controls all destinies. Men are basically pre-programmed with no choice over the natures they're born with and thus have no control over whether they end up in heaven or hell. But calvinists attempt to overcome this by claiming that God only predestines men to heaven, letting the rest go the course of their natural desires.

Both sides claim that God gets all the credit for men's salvation, and men get all the blame for their condemnation. I'll let you decide which system more logically supports that premise.

Here's where my question arises.

Why did God, in all of his glory and might, create a world where the majority were destined to an eternity in hell?

To me it's very simple. God valued freedom over preventing all evil. We are the same way. We have children, knowing full well, they will suffer and perhaps even cause suffering. But we value the good they may experience, as well, and desire them to have the freedom to choose. We could of course prevent all evil and suffering by ceasing to have children, but most disagree with that approach. Yet, despite this, some actually point the finger at God, asking why He created us. But this is hypocritical coming from anyone with children or unopposed to having children.

Look at it this way.

God created the the world, and the Garden of Eden. In this little Garden, he created Adam and Eve. Yet, in this creation, he knew they were going to fail, correct? And since he knew they were going to fail, why did he do it in the first place? Why did God in all his infinite wisdom and might, create an imperfect world where the children of the World were most likely destined to BURN IN TORMENT FOR ALL OF ETERNITY???

God didn't originally create an imperfect world or imperfect creatures, He created free ones. The imperfection did not come by God's choice. Until you understand that you'll never understand this issue. Freedom is a good thing. God could have created robots or not created us at all. But He valued freedom. For that I’m thankful.

God is supposed to be good correct? Better than us mere mortals. Yet, me, being an imperfect mortal and human being, cannot comprehend sending ANY child I bear to an eternal torment, no matter how naughty he was.

Children are naughty and there is a abundance of evidence in the Bible that God will not condemn any children at all. You are conflating evil in adults with naughtiness in children. This is a false analogy. You fail to understand just how evil adults are. “Naughty” is a gross euphemism.

My point is this, how good can God be, if he created the World knowing that MOST of us would spend an eternity literally burning alive...

Knowing is not the same as causing. We (and that includes you) have been given a choice. You need not suffer eternal torment. If you end up in hell you'll only be able to blame yourself.

 

[FallingWaters]

My point is this, how good can God be, if he created the World knowing that MOST of us would spend an eternity literally burning alive...

That's why I don't believe in Predestination. It is a wrong concept.

The Children of Israel were"predestined"... not individuals.

In answer to the rest of your questions, we don't know for sure, but the thing that makes the most sense to me is that God has the heart of a Father and He wanted children to love, not because He had some need that needed filling... just because He is Love and He is Good.

 

[supernova165]

According to the Bible, there are those who are born who are predesitined to hell, and those who are born who are predestined to heaven, correct? Here's where my question arises.

Why did God, in all of his glory and might, create a world where the majority were destined to an eternity in hell?

Everyone has a choice. God made the world, a perfict world, it's your choice to sin.

God created the the world, and the Garden of Eden. In this little Garden, he created Adam and Eve. Yet, in this creation, he knew they were going to fail, correct? And since he knew they were going to fail, why did he do it in the first place? Why did God in all his infinite wisdom and might, create an imperfect world where the childrem of the World were most likely destined to BURN IN TORMENT FOR ALL OF ETERNITY???

Yeh He knew, but again thats your own fault. He gave us a way to live, through Jesus and it's so easy all you have to do is be open to belive in Him.

God is supposed to be good correct? Better than us mere mortals. Yet, me, being an imperfect mortal and human being, cannot comprehend sending ANY child I bear to an eternal tormnet, no matter how naughty he was.

Ok then, they can't go to heaven because they are not perfict. God doesn't send them to hell, its the place people go who dont go to heaven. Hell is hell because its apart from God, and you cant be with God because your not perfict. God has already given the us the way out of hell, people just choice not to take it.

That my thoughts anyway.

 

[salida]

I have alot fo questions concerning christiantiy. I was born and raised southern babptist, yet I haven't been lead to a straight answer yet.

According to the Bible, there are those who are born who are predesitined to hell, and those who are born who are predestined to heaven, correct? Here's where my question arises.

Why did God, in all of his glory and might, create a world where the majority were destined to an eternity in hell?

Look at it this way.

God created the the world, and the Garden of Eden. In this little Garden, he created Adam and Eve. Yet, in this creation, he knew they were going to fail, correct? And since he knew they were going to fail, why did he do it in the first place? Why did God in all his infinite wisdom and might, create an imperfect world where the childrem of the World were most likely destined to BURN IN TORMENT FOR ALL OF ETERNITY???

God is supposed to be good correct? Better than us mere mortals. Yet, me, being an imperfect mortal and human being, cannot comprehend sending ANY child I bear to an eternal tormnet, no matter how naughty he was.

My point is this, how good can God be, if he created the World knowing that MOST of us would spend an eternity literally burning alive...

God doesn't "send" people to hell. Their sin does and we all have a free will. Unfortunately, most of mankind will desire the dark road because of their free will and not light. God gives us a certain amount of light but if we rebel with the light He has given us He will take it away.

In Acts 17:26-27 - From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

Thus, we are born like this so that we may seek Him. God gives us the edge and a little help here. Plus, His creation is His fingerprints and shows His majesty. Men are therefore without excuse.

 

[prophecystudent]

Predestination is a "non-starter". At best, it is a less than accurate translation. In the context of the whole of scripture it goes like this.

God knew from before the creation who would be saved and who would not. Knowing is not the same as deciding who would be saved.

Our salvation hinges solely on our decision to accept Christ, or not. It is that simple.

God created man and gave him/us free choice. We can choose to follow His rules, or not. Just as Adam and Eve chose not to follow the only rule God laid down in the Garden of Eden. The only rule was "not to eat of the fruit of that one tree". The penalty, if they broke the rule was death.

Because He knew what would happen before it did, He provided a way to redeem those who love Him to Himself. That being the sacrifice of the Perfect Lamb of God, who was called Christ. Christ was created before the earth was created because God knew what mankind, with their stiff necks and foolish pride would do.

So, while God knew what would happen before it actually happened, He did not cause it to happen.

Fred

 

[eqman855]

This statement upsets me because never in my bible have I ever read that we are predestined to hell. This line of thinking would be a contradiction to God.

John 3:16-18 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever, believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

God sent Jesus so that we can be saved, so that we don't have to be condemned to hell. He says if we simply believe in Jesus as the Son of God then we have a spot. However it isn't that simple, we still have to live in light, but if we truly believe in Him, then it's easier for us to give up our evil ways so to speak. Of course we will slip up but we can always be forgiven. Because God also says.

"I will never leave you nor forsake you" Hebrews 13:5

But Paul writes in Romans 9:18:

"Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. " [NKJV]

As a Christian, how do you reconcile this verse with the ones you provided? For example, why did God harden Pharoah's "heart"?

eqman855

 

[supernova165]

But Paul writes in Romans 9:18:

"Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. " [NKJV]

As a Christian, how do you reconcile this verse with the ones you provided? For example, why did God harden Pharoah's "heart"?

eqman855

For the greater good I suppose. Even then after this was said and done the pharoah could have choice God. I'm not sure, other can probally answer better than me here.

 

[Calminian]

But Paul writes in Romans 9:18:

"Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. " [NKJV]

As a Christian, how do you reconcile this verse with the ones you provided? For example, why did God harden Pharoah's "heart"?

eqman855

For the greater good I suppose. Even then after this was said and done the pharoah could have choice God. I'm not sure, other can probally answer better than me here.

Furthermore, the incident with pharaoh had nothing to do with salvation. There are times when God will harden hearts if it serves a bigger purpose as supernova165 pointed out.

In regard to salvation, God gives men a window of opportunity to believe. He urges them to listen. But if they don't, He eventually takes the opportunity away.

Heb. 3:15 while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

John 12:36 “While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

Jer. 13:16 Give glory to the LORD your God Before He causes darkness, And before your feet stumble On the dark mountains, And while you are looking for light, He turns it into the shadow of death And makes it dense darkness.

 

[jesusmysaviour76]

This topic also makes my head hurt so i'm not going to think about it anymore, but i'm finding it interesting what everyone is writing.

 

[Delta007]

Hey armyman_83,

"I believe God knows all things, if He didn't He wouldn't be God. Thus God must know who is going to hell and who is going to heaven right? Just playing devil's advocate."

I agree and I responded to this point in the fourth paragraph [of black text] of reply to the opening post.

-------------
Further more, if people are predestined to go to hell, then what is the point of evangelism (sp?), which makes Jesus' command to "go ... to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of teh Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20; GNB) nonsense.

-------------
As another possible answer to the question about Romans 9:18 about how God shows mercy to some and not to others, I suggest the article What is predestination? Is predestination Biblical? by Got Questions Ministries available at <gotquestions.org/predestination.html> in the third and fourth paragraphs, although I disagree with their interpretation of Scripture as far as predestination goes.

God, as sovereign God, has the right to show mercy and grace upon whom He wishes and no one can claim that it is 'unfair' because they don't deserve anything from God. If my parents give my sister $500 and me zip, then I couldn't claim that it was 'unfair' because I didn't deserve anything from them - grace and mercy is unwarranted and undeserved. Sure, I'd be annoyed, but it would not be unfair as the article above explains.

I agree with supernova165's response in that God never took nor did He impede (sp?) on Pharoah's freewill. We are always influenced by outside factors in everything we do, yet we ultimately still have the final say - for example, someone may do something that really irritates me, but it is my choice whether or not I get angry, even though they are an influencing factor.

 

[Adstar]

I have alot fo questions concerning christiantiy. I was born and raised southern babptist, yet I haven't been lead to a straight answer yet.

According to the Bible, there are those who are born who are predesitined to hell, and those who are born who are predestined to heaven, correct? Here's where my question arises.

Why did God, in all of his glory and might, create a world where the majority were destined to an eternity in hell?

Look at it this way.

God created the the world, and the Garden of Eden. In this little Garden, he created Adam and Eve. Yet, in this creation, he knew they were going to fail, correct? And since he knew they were going to fail, why did he do it in the first place? Why did God in all his infinite wisdom and might, create an imperfect world where the childrem of the World were most likely destined to BURN IN TORMENT FOR ALL OF ETERNITY???

God is supposed to be good correct? Better than us mere mortals. Yet, me, being an imperfect mortal and human being, cannot comprehend sending ANY child I bear to an eternal tormnet, no matter how naughty he was.

My point is this, how good can God be, if he created the World knowing that MOST of us would spend an eternity literally burning alive...

Yes it us true that God knows whom will accept Him and who will reject His will, even before they are born. But the only way a accusation against God can be maintained on this issue is if God forced one individual to accept Him while barring another person from coming to accept the salvation of the Messiah Jesus.

Scripture says that people are predetermined through Gods "foreknowledge" that word is central to understanding predestination.

Foreknowledge is the knowing beforehand of an individual’s free will choice. God knows every human being that ever will live and he knows their free will decisions, He has known this from the foundation of the world. This does not mean that people have been born without the free will ability to accept or reject Gods will.

The creation of free willed beings seems to be very important to God. While i do not believe anyone can tell you from scripture why God created us, we must still trust in the will of God on all issues like this.


All Praise The Ancient Of Days

 

[Adstar]

But Paul writes in Romans 9:18:

"Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. " [NKJV]

As a Christian, how do you reconcile this verse with the ones you provided? For example, why did God harden Pharoah's "heart"?

eqman855

God hardened Pharoah's heart after Pharoah had hardened his won heart and rejected the request of God to let His people go twice. God did not so much harden Pharoah's heart but He acted to keep Pharoah's heart hard so as to fulfill all the great signs. These signs where for the world to know that it was not Moses or Pharoah that where freeing the Jews from Egypt but it was God that did it.


If you want a more detailed scriptural answer have a read below:

Exodus 8



8Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, "Entreat the LORD that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the LORD."

9And Moses said to Pharaoh, "Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only."

10So he said, "Tomorrow." And he said, "Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God. 11And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only."

12Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses cried out to the LORD concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. 13So the LORD did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. 14They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the LORD had said.


Note it says that he (pharaoh) hardened his heart.



Exodus 8

28So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede for me."

29Then Moses said, "Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the LORD, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD."

30So Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated the LORD. 31And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. 32But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.



Once again here we see pharaoh after being given a second chance hardened his heart again against the will of God. Pharaoh was in total rebellion against the will of God.



Exodus 9
8 So the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. 9And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt." 10Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused boils that break out in sores on man and beast. 11And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. 12But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he did not heed them, just as the LORD had spoken to Moses.



Now we see God deciding to keep pharaohs heart hard to complete the series of signs to leave no one in doubt that it was God himself who was freeing the Jews from Egypt. Pharaoh was already lost, God chose to use him for his greater plan. By pharaohs stiff necked rebellion he made himself available to God to be used as a vessel of Gods wrath.

Not only did God harden the heart of pharaoh but he has hardened the heart of other people who have repeatedly rebelled against His will. This will happen in the future also.

2 Thessalonians 2
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.


All Praise The Ancient Of Days