This book contains answers for Christians who are hungry for greater insight into what God is doing today to bring forth a great end time harvest. The question we must all ask ourselves is, just how hungry are we? Are we truly growing in God’s wisdom and truth, or are we stagnating in the status quo?

Einstein's definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results.

By virtue of being human, we live in—and frequently are subject to—the flesh. But to grow is to take the risk of muddling around in both error and truth, and not always knowing the difference. To not grow spiritually is to stagnate, which leads to death. Either way the risk is real—a closed loop—and risk is unavoidable so long as we live.

Those who take the growth route are “seekers of wisdom and truth.” Those who take what is considered the safe route are in fact taking the route to stagnation. The middle ground between growth and stagnation could be called the conservative or traditionalist route.

A traditionalist is often a minimalist; i.e., one who holds to well established standards set in place by the founders of their tradition without variance or consideration. Minimalists lean towards Murphy’s Law that states: Whatever can go wrong will go wrong—and Satan always wins the lion’s share. In the end God wins, but He will have only the pitiful, picked over, unavoidable minimum to show for His narrow victory—according to Murphy’s Law.

But God’s law is radical, and says just the opposite of Murphy’s Law. God is absolutely victorious. Victory is another aspect of who God is—He is perpetually and absolutely victorious. His victory is unceasingly on schedule and is all encompassing. And the Lion of Judah takes the lion’s share! Amen!

Before God created our universe He already had foreknowledge of every human and bird and flower that would exist on Earth during human history. Because He is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient in space and time, He was perfectly able to foreknow before the creation that Adam would fall, and that every human would fall short of the glory of God. This also explains how He was able to write all those names in the Lamb’s book of life (Rev. 21: 27). Isn’t it wonderful that He made provision for our salvation through Jesus Christ before creating our universe?

But what is foreknowledge?

Time is God’s will in motion. To God there is no future or past. He is the mighty I AM who lives in the eternal present tense. For God the present was, the present is, and the present will be—simultaneously. God is outside the physical restraints of time itself. And He uses that very attribute to authenticate His Word.

In Ecclesiastes 3:11, it says that God has placed eternity in the heart of men. Eternity means past, present and future all in one...the I AM'ness of God that resides in us.

Did the Bible actually say God is in all of time and actually involves Himself in the past?  Well, in Ecclesiastes 3: 14-15 King Solomon said this:

I know that whatever God does, it endures forever; nothing can be added to it nor anything taken from it. And God does it so that men will [reverently] fear Him [revere and worship Him, knowing that He is].  That which is now already has been, and that which is to be already has been; and God seeks that which has passed by [so that history repeats itself ]. (Amplified Bible)

Is this a scientific view as well as being what the Bible says? Einstein said, “People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between the past, the present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”

He predetermined the beginning, world history, and the end of all events eons before the events transpire. He is able to be “the Alpha and the Omega” because His foreknowledge is part of being omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent in all of time and space.

That is why—before creating anything—He was able to record in the Bible all that will ever happen on earth. To us that is prophecy of future events. But for God, He is already there and has already done that—present tense. So, for Him, foreknowledge is (as He told Moses) summed up in His name—I AM THAT I AM.

When someone talks about God doing “a quick work,” we must remember that He knew before the foundation of the world the exact day that He would do that “quick work.” All that He will ever do is as much an established fact in His mind as the fall of Adam was before the foundation of the world.

That means He is precisely on time and is absolutely in control, and never has to rush. He may release some events in rapid succession, but He is never pressured or persuaded to react to anything.

So, God’s foreknowledge comes out of His omnipresence in all of time. And with this divine foreknowledge comes His ability to hold the future in His absolute, omniscient power. He is THE epitome, THE definition of “absolute victory.”

Perhaps this understanding of God’s omnipresence in time will help dispel the poorly thought out Deist notion that says, “God doesn't have foreknowledge of everything, but is dependent, in part, upon our choices and actions.”

When we take a second look at the Jonah epic we can see that Jonah still could have chosen to not deliver God’s message to Nineveh even after being belched up by that “great fish.” God allowed both Jonah’s will and His will to be fulfilled. But if Jonah had lain on that beach, reeking of vomit, and still refused to go, God would have sent another prophet. God chooses whom He chooses, but His will is inevitably done.

Omnipresence in time is beyond our comprehension, but maybe a chess game scenario will help our human perspective. Consider what would happen if you could look into the future and watch the next game with your chess opponent. Even if you lost that future game, you then know in advance what your opponents moves will be, and you can prepare to counter them before the game is played in the present tense.

However, your opponent may be able to counter your new strategy. So you would have to replay that scene over and over again so as to see every possible move of your opponent before allowing the future to evolve into the present and past tense.

When we add God’s omnipotence to His omnipresence we can see that His ways are far above our ways. In fact, they are so far above our ways that even our best explanations of how He is able to write history in advance is beyond our comprehension.

As one commentator put it, “History is His Story—prophecy as history in the making.”

This concept of God as omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient in space and time leads me to suspect that this I AM’ness of God transcends all human theologies. Specifically, this concept transcends Calvinism and Arminianism. It even transcends our concept of “the sovereignty of God.” God is always beyond our definitions.

But before someone has decided that I have invented a new school of theology, and names it Uptegroveism, let me point out that I don’t understand what I just said. This concept transcends human thinking. But man never ceases to endeavor to place God in a box. That is what doctrines and theologies are all about. But Christianity is bigger than just doctrines, isn’t it? When my sons were three years old they were not capable of understanding their father, but they loved me nonetheless. And I loved them passionately, despite their immaturity.

Did this help you gain a larger concept of God?

The Bible describes a life of virtue, glory, privilege, and VICTORY for us—in Christ Jesus. Way too many of us Christians mouth the words in that old gospel song, “Victory in Jesus,” without understanding or believing in victory for ourselves or for His church.

Now, back to the subject of “seekers of wisdom and truth,” or choosing the growth route versus the traditionalist or minimalist route.

Those who take the growth route are “seekers of wisdom and truth.” Those who take what is considered to be the traditional minimalist route are—in reality—”seekers of confirmation of the status quo.” One is a Berean and the other is Pharisaic. One preserves, protects, defends the traditions of the elders and condemns all that don’t agree with what some have already determined to be the truth. The Bereans repeatedly and consistently shake and test every opinion presented to them to see if it holds up to the Word of God. It was not the conservative traditionalists that brought about the Reformation—it was the risk-taking Bereans.

Martin Luther believed that the Reformation was to be an ongoing process—culminating in the Second Coming. Although Luther was wrong about some doctrinal issues, he was right to take the huge God-inspired risk that changed the world. So must we. As A.W. Tozer said, “No revival is without reformation.”

There will forever be only one man whose message was perfect—Jesus. There is only one book that is infallible—the Bible. None of us agree with anybody 100%. Therefore, neither anyone quoted in this book nor I will be found infallible. Even so, if any of my assertions are to be proven wrong, let it be by the Berean method. I believe that this message is on time and critical for our generation.

You will find this book to be a unique work that deserves the attention of all serious Bible students. Whether you agree or disagree with something I say, this book will inform, encourage, challenge, and motivate you in your daily Christian walk. And you will be stretched and enriched by your efforts to prove or disprove my assertions.

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