₦airaland Forum

KingEbukasBlog:
Some people are predestined to make heaven but no one is predestined for hell . The truth is not everyone has free will . Some people must follow a particular course for God's divine purpose . That' s my opinion . Objections are welcomed though .

Yes, i gree with you. Looking at this...

Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily SUCH AS SHOULD BE SAVED.
Acts:2:47

If there are "Such that should be saved", then they are those who ahould not be saved. As hard and cruel as this may sound, this where the Sovereignty of God in Salvation comes in.

KingEbukasBlog:
It is not biblical and God would not create someone just to go to hell .

2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

But what about the ones the Bible calls the "Sons of Perdition"?

kilo4sure:
In my opinion, both predestination and freewill are biblical. Choosing either extremes would be a mistake. However it seems to me that your question is on how both concepts balance each other in the scheme of things.
1) lf predestination is true, then we were already chosen by God to be Christians no matter what we do, then ultimately how is believing in Christ of our own choosing? And why are we told to believe in him as though we had a choice in the matter?
2) lf we are chosen then the others are ultimately damned due to no fault of theirs, then why does God yet blame us and how is this fair?
To answer these questions, the Calvinists in Europe exalted predestination above our freewill almost neglecting the biblical passages that indicate freewill. If l am to answer these questions however from my own point of view, l would say..
1)Predestination is indeed true and biblical, and indeed some are chosen by God in the scheme of things, just like Israel was chosen. But again to be chosen means you have a lot of work to do. The issue is every human by virtue of nature deserve to die and not rise again. God is in a process of changing this order of things and defying nature, so at some point in time he alters history and the scheme of things by choosing some to do his work. He calls them however to work with him in transforming the world (your will be done on earth as it is in heaven). This does not automatically mean others are damned as the strict Calvinists believe, but it is the will of God that all men be saved. How he does this is past finding out, and seems to be a slow methodical process from human point of view.
2) There is a form of freewill for all to believe but ultimately no one can believe( in order to do the works of God as elects) if God does not choose to teach him to believe. God himself who made all men, knows what he has made them for, he knows why he may not draw a man to Jesus in this age, for his ways are past finding out, however we must continue to preach for we do not know whom God wants to add to the church.
However inspite of all these, there is freewill to do right and wrong because in my view, God does not micromanage the world, he knows the end from the beginning but he does not control our choices to do right and wrong, though he could make good use of even the wrong choices for his purpose. Choosing to do evil continually thwarts the plan of God to save us and even leads to destruction, hence we are constantly admonished to choose righteousness.

Very succinct.

RESPONSIBILITY AND CHOICE is all that there is.

GOD KNOWS THAT SOME PEOPLE WILL NEVER ACCEPT HIM, BUT HE DID NOT DECREE THAT they SHOULD not ACCEPT HIM.

its the POWER OF CHOICE. The door ia opened to all. Enter if you may.

E.g I discovered i couldnt keep a coperate job for more than a year. For no reason, i'll be told to go. Funny enoufh, i dont even apply for these jobs, i just get a phone call to go take my CV somewhere and am getting the job. But after one year exactly, am told my services are no longer needed. This happened three times, then i remebered some yrs back i made a vow to God.

In my deaperation, i told God, If he will save my leg from amputation, i will give him that leg to use as he wishes, whereever he wantes me to be, i will go. And that i wont marry, wont raise any Children just to concentrate in his work. (DESPERATION OF A DYING GIRL)

He saved me, the doctors till today can't understand how i can use the leg to walk. But after that, i went back to Uni and forgot my Vow.

Immidiately after school, i (didn't serve), i got exempted, i got a job straight and life began.
When i started loosing the Jobs, I asked the Holy Spirit why. These people are not relieving me because am not good at what am doing,(because i am). He said "You made a Vow, This is not where you shd be" then i remembered i told God i would be a missionary.

I got ready to go to Jos for Missionary traning, but i sought counsel first from a Pastor who told me, you dont serve God as you see fit, ask him what he wants you to do.
For three days, i went to a Prayer Camp, day and night i cried out to God. "What do you want from me?" Show me, tell me. Then He did. He gave a vision of exactly what i shd do, where i shd do it.
Still a missionary Job, but i didn't need to go for any Missionary traning.

Now i know what my calling is, I now know what my destiny is. But WILL GOD FORCE ME TO DO IT? NO

He Showed the location where i should operate, IF I DECIDES TO CHANGE THE LOCATION WILL HE STOP ME? No, but will the land i choose be fruitful? No. Will i blame him if i fail there? Why i shd i?

Now that i have asked what my assignment in destiny is, and he has shown me, if i decide not to constantly consult him in the day to day affairs of doing his Work, and eventually run into trouble, Shd i blame him? Why will i?


Now He had determined that i be a certain person, gave me a certain talent and passion to be able to function in a certain vocation, If i dont enquire from him, will i in the first place know what my assginment is? No.

Now that i know, if i say, "Lord, I cant do that, am too learned to do that, and choose to do what i please, should i blame God for the outcome? No.

Uyi168:
The concept of predestination invalidates the concept of freewill wch the the main-stream christianity preaches...or is it possible for one to be predestined and stil have freewill?

What if am predestined to care for the homeless, but i know the scriptures well, and base on that indecided to open a church and be a pastor instead.

God knows me and has set me to do something, but i decide not tondo that, Will God force me? No

God= Predestination=Help for the helpless.

Me= Choice/Freewill= Preacher.

kilo4sure:
The summary is that some have been chosen as elects to do the work of God, this does not make them special, but it means much is required of them, not all are equal. God cannot call everybody but God wants everybody to come to him. The reason God wants men to continually seek after righteousness is this... If we do the right things even without knowing God or Jesus, just like Cornelius we continually pull ourselves to the spirit of God who unknown to us, begins to minister to our hearts and draws us to Jesus. We then receive the Holy spirit to do the work of God.
However some may not go through this process before they believe, some may even believe for selfish reasons, they all have their freewill to do that, but those who have been chosen by God or predestined especially during the time of Jesus among the Jews he preached to, did not just believe because of freewill only, but because they have been called out. Predestination focuses on the elect. God himself taught these people to believe, because they have work to do.However there are some who were not called, but who just beleive, God also has his way of using these people. So either away the right belief even from our freewill is not an illusion, but no one could have truly believed so as to do mighty works e.g the apostles, Cornelius, Paul, etc without having been called out by God from the foundation of the world. I believe that God has a way of drawing the world to Jesus, but some have been called out ahead to do serious work.

Okay, i got a very serious and important point here
"Predestination focuses on the elect for specific assignments. But is it poasible for the elect to reject that calling? Can the elect exercise their freewill and reject the mandate?

4everGod:
It has already been explained here



Mathew 22 vs 14 comes to mind.

Many are called but few are chosen....The chosen are the predestined while the called are those with the freewill to say yes or no. Its simple really.

Oh my God... You know i never saw this scripture dis way? Yea, its true

kilo4sure:
Take Saul as an example, God put Saul as king, Saul misbehaved and then he found David. Saul was replaced with David. The parable of Jesus in which many were selected to come to a feast and they refused, with others taking their place is another example.

Yes sir, even Moses was replaced with Joshua.

Anas09:
But what about the ones the Bible calls the "Sons of Perdition"?

Those are exceptions though -very extreme cases i,e Judas and the Anti-Christ . Right ?

Anas09:
Yes, i gree with you. Looking at this...

Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily SUCH AS SHOULD BE SAVED.
Acts:2:47

If there are "Such that should be saved", then they are those who ahould not be saved. As hard and cruel as this may sound, this where the Sovereignty of God in Salvation comes in.

I don't think its cruel . No one deserves anything from God . Its just through his mercy and grace that we are opportune to be saved . So for the ones predestined to be saved , how blessed and favoured they are !

KingEbukasBlog:
I don't think its cruel . No one deserves anything from God . Its just through his mercy and grace that we are opportune to be saved . So for the ones predestined to be saved , how blessed and favoured they are !

I stand with you totally, i said that becos of some in here who dont understand these things.

Below is a document i found related to this subject. Pls read and comment everyone. Thanks.

5solas:
The following article is taken from the book,

ABSOLUTE
PREDESTINATION

by JEROME ZANCHIUS
(1516-1590).
It is hoped that it will help us understand and apply this doctrine for our good.


OBSERVATIONS ON THE DIVINE
ATTRIBUTES,

NECESSARY TO BE PREMISED,

IN ORDER TO OUR BETTER UNDERSTANDING
THE DOCTRINE OF PREDESTINATION.

ALTHOUGH the great and ever-blessed God is a being absolutely simple and infinitely remote from all shadow of composition, He is, nevertheless, in condescension to our weak and contracted faculties, represented in Scripture as possessed of divers Properties, or Attributes, which, though seemingly different from His Essence, are in reality essential to Him, and constitutive of His very Nature.

Of these attributes, those on which we shall now particularly descant (as being more immediately concerned in the ensuing subject) are the following ones:

His eternal wisdom and foreknowledge
The absolute freedom and liberty of His will
The perpetuity and unchangeableness both of Himself and His decrees
His omnipotence
His justice
His mercy

Without an explication of these, the doctrine of Predestination cannot be so well understood, and we shall, therefore, briefly consider them by way of preliminary to the main subject.

THE DIVINE WISDOM AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD.

I.—With respect to THE DIVINE WISDOM AND FOREKNOWLEDGE, I shall lay down the following positions:—

POSITION 1.—God is, and always was so perfectly wise, that nothing ever did, or does, or can elude His knowledge. He knew, from all eternity, not only what He Himself intended to do, but also what He would incline and permit others to do. "Known unto God are all His works (ap aiwnoV) from eternity" (Acts 15.18).

POSITION 2.—Consequently, God knows nothing now, nor will know anything hereafter, which He did not know and foresee from everlasting, His foreknowledge being co-eternal with Himself, and extending to everything that is or shall be done (Heb. 4.13). All things, which comprises past, present and future, are Unclad and open to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

POSITION 3.—This foreknowledge of God is not conjectural and uncertain (for then it would not be foreknowledge), but most sure and infallible, so that whatever He foreknows to be future shall necessarily and undoubtedly come to pass. For His knowledge can no more be frustrated, or His wisdom be deceived, than He can cease to be God. Nay, could either of these be the case, He actually would cease to be God, all mistake and disappointment being absolutely incompatible with the Divine nature.

POSITION 4.—The influence which the Divine foreknowledge has on the certain futurition of the things foreknown does not render the intervention of second causes needless, nor destroy the nature of the things themselves.

My meaning is, that the prescience of God does not lay any coercive necessity on the wills of beings naturally free. For instance, man, even in his fallen state, is endued with a natural freedom of will, yet he acts, from the first to the last moment of his life, in absolute subserviency (though, perhaps, he does not know it nor design it) to the purposes and decrees of God concerning him, notwithstanding which, he is sensible of no compulsion, but acts as freely and voluntarily as if he was sui juris, subject to no control and absolutely lord of himself. This made Luther,1 after he had shown how all things necessarily and inevitably come to pass, in consequence of the sovereign will and infallible foreknowledge of God, say that "we should carefully distinguish between a necessity of infallibility and a necessity of coaction, since both good and evil men, though by their actions they fulfill the decree and appointment of God, yet are not forcibly constrained to do any thing, but act willingly."

POSITION 5.—God's foreknowledge, taken abstractedly, is not the sole cause of beings and events, but His will and foreknowledge together. Hence we find (Acts 2.23) that His determinate counsel and foreknowledge act in concert, the latter resulting from and being founded on the former.

THE WILL OF GOD.

We pass on,

II.—To consider THE WILL OF GOD, with regard to which we assert as follows:—

POSITION 1.—The Deity is possessed not only of infinite knowledge, but likewise of absolute liberty of will, so that whatever He does, or permits to be done, He does and permits freely and of His own good pleasure.

Consequently, it is His free pleasure to permit sin, since, without His permission, neither men nor devils can do anything. Now, to permit is, at least, the same as not to hinder, though it be in our power to hinder if we please, and this permission, or non-hindrance, is certainly an act of the Divine will. Hence Augustine2 says, "Those things which, seemingly, thwart the Divine will are, nevertheless, agreeable to it, for, if God did not permit them, they could not be done, and whatever God permits, He permits freely and willingly. He does nothing, neither suffers anything to be done, against His own will." And Luther3 observes that "God permitted Adam to fall into sin because He willed that he should so fall."

POSITION 2.—Although the will of God, considered in itself, is simply one and the same, yet, in condescension to the present capacities of man, the Divine will is very properly distinguished into secret and revealed. Thus it was His revealed will that Pharaoh should let the Israelites go, that Abraham should sacrifice his son, and that Peter should not deny Christ; but, as was proved by the event, it was His secret will that Pharaoh should not let Israel go (Exod. 4.21), that Abraham should not sacrifice Isaac (Gen. 22.12), and that Peter should deny his Lord (Matt. 26.34).

POSITION 3.—The will of God, respecting the salvation and condemnation of men, is never contrary to itself; He immutably wills the salvation of the elect and vice versa; nor can He ever vary or deviate from His own will in any instance whatever, so as that that should be done, which He willeth not, or that not be brought to pass, which He willeth. "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure" (Isa. 46.10). "The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, and the thoughts of His heart to all generations" (Psalm 33.11). "He is in one mind, and who can turn Him? and what His soul desireth, even that He doeth. For He performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with Him" (Job 23.13,14). "Being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will" (Eph. 1.11).

Thus, for instance, Hophni and Phineas hearkened not to the voice of their father, who reproved them for their wickedness, because the Lord would slay them (1 Sam. 2.25), and Sihon, king of Heshbon, would not receive the peaceable message sent him by Moses because the Lord God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into the hand of Israel (Deut. 2.26,30). Thus also, to add no more, we find that there have been, and ever will be, some whose eyes God blindeth, and whose hearts He hardeneth, i.e., whom God permits to continue blind and hardened on purpose to prevent their seeing with their eyes and understanding with their hearts, and to hinder their conversion to God and spiritual healing by Him (Isa. 6.9; John 12.39,40).

POSITION 4.—Because God's will of precept may, in some instances, appear to thwart His will of determination, it does not follow either (1) that He mocks His creatures, or (2) that they are excusable for neglecting to observe His will of command.

(1) He does not hereby mock His creatures, for if men do not believe His word nor observe His precepts, the fault is not in Him, but in themselves; their unbelief and disobedience are not owing to any ill infused into them by God, but to the vitiosity of their depraved nature and the perverseness of their own wills. Now, if God invited all men to come to Him, and then shut the door of mercy against any who were desirous of entering, His invitation would be a mockery and unworthy of Himself; but we insist on it, that He does not invite all men to come to Him in a saving way, and that every individual person who is, through His gracious influence on his heart, made willing to come to Him, shall sooner or later be surely saved by Him, and that with an everlasting salvation.

(2) Man is not excusable for neglecting God's will of command. Pharaoh was faulty, and therefore justly punishable, for not obeying God's revealed will, though God's secret will rendered that obedience impossible. Abraham would have committed sin had he refused to sacrifice Isaac, and in looking to God's secret will would have acted counter to His revealed one. So Herod, Pontius Pilate, and the reprobate Jews were justly condemned for putting Christ to death, inasmuch as it was a most notorious breach of God's revealed will. "Thou shalt do no murder," yet, in slaying the Messiah, they did no more than God's hand and His counsel—i.e., His secret, ordaining will—determined before should be done (Acts 4.27,28); and Judas is justly punished for perfidiously and wickedly betraying Christ, though his perfidy and wickedness were (but not with his design) subservient to the accomplishment of the decree and word of God.

The brief of the matter is this: secret things belong to God, and those that are revealed belong to us; therefore, when we meet with a plain precept, we should simply endeavour to obey it, without tarrying to inquire into God's hidden purpose. Venerable Bucer, after taking notice how God hardened Pharaoh's heart, and making some observations on the apostle's simile of a potter and his clay, adds4 that "Though God has at least the same right over His creatures, and is at liberty to make them what He will and direct them to the end that pleaseth Himself, according to His sovereign and secret determination, yet it by no means follows that they do not act freely and spontaneously, or that the evil they commit is to be charged on God."

POSITION 5.—God's hidden will is peremptory and absolute, and therefore cannot be hindered from taking effect. God's will is nothing else than God Himself willing, consequently it is omnipotent and unfrustrable. Hence we find it termed by Augustine and the schoolmen, voluntus omnipotentissima, because whatever God wills cannot fail of being effected. This made Augustine say,5 "Evil men do many things contrary to God's revealed will, but so great is His wisdom, and so inviolable His truth, that He directs all things into those channels which He foreknew." And again,6 "No free will of the creature can resist the will of God, for man cannot so will or nill as to obstruct the Divine determination or overcome the Divine power." Once more,7 "It cannot be questioned but God does all things, and ever did, according to His own purpose: the human will cannot resist Him so as to make Him do more or less than it is His pleasure to do; quandoquidem etiam de ipsis hominum voluntatibus quod vult facit, since He does what He pleases even with the wills of men."

KingEbukasBlog:
Those are exceptions though -very extreme cases i,e Judas and the Anti-Christ . Right ?

Not, only those ones. There are people who will never, no matter what happens, accept Christ. Human beings i mean.

They have beem chosen to aid the Antichrist fulfil his mandate.
Some of these people have the genes of Satan physically present in them and transfer it down their offspring.

Evil spirits transmogificating and taking up flesh so as to have sex with humans to plant their seed here.

Lets take for example, Daniel's dream in Daniel 2. And Daniel Chapters 7, 8,9,10,11 and 12.
The governments, the rulers, the Kings etc, prophesied to bring to pass those prophecies, can't be working to establish the government and operation of the Antichrist while at the same time, working to establish Gods Kingdom, yea?
I read an article about an Order called "Zoroastrianism", The Ancient Persian religion of Astrology. Its said that While Daniel was in Babylon when all those Kings ruled, this Order also adviced the Kings, When Daniel had his visions about the Messiah and wrote them down, the Babylonian Wise men, were preview to those visions. because only the elit had access to books then.

Rememeber Astrology tell the future and Yahweh warns us seriously against it? The question is, If God is against Astrology, and will not reveal the future to anyone who consults on Him that, who then were these wise men getting their info from? "Satan". Its then save to say, the Zoroastrian Order was of Satan.

If you do Astrology you are xonsulting satan oo

The Elit of this Order, having access to the written documents of Daniel's vision, and the time table therein, handed it down from generation to generation pending when the Messiah will be born.

The race to which the Prophecy was given had forgotten about it, but this Order did not. At the appropriate time, they came and reawokened the very race for which that prophecy was given, to the fact that such prophecy was even given.

Now, They follow a Star all the way from Persia (Todays Iran). A singlr star led them to Judea, While at Jerusalem, they decided not to follow the star again Instead went to Herod, whom satan knew will be incited agaisnt the Child Jesus.

They went in, incited Herod, still came out and took off following the same star from where they left off to where the Child Jesus was. Are you seeing any pattern?


If the star could lead them from Persia to Judea, couldn't the Star lead them to where the Child was straight?

Well, their Job was done, they presented Him with gifts which spoke about his dead even at birth. They left.

This Order knew, that the birth of Christ kick started another phase of the Calender, so they came to see that it began. They went back. That Order is still there even now as we speak, following that Calender silently.

According to Daniel's vision, from when the
Messiah gets cut off to When the Man of Sin shall appear, a Calender is given, and they know it. They are following the evnts unfolding, Waiting Patiently to Usher in the reign of the man of Sin.

These are some of the Sons of Perdition. They are conciously waiting for the enthronement of Satan. They are not decieved, they know what they are doing.

This is my take.

Anas09:
Not, only those ones. There are people who will never, no matter what happens, accept Christ. Human beings i mean.

They have beem chosen to aid the Antichrist fulfil his mandate.
Some of these people have the genes of Satan physically present in them and transfer it down their offspring.

Evil spirits transmogificating and taking up flesh so as to have sex with humans to plant their seed here.

Lets take for example, Daniel's dream in Daniel 2. And Daniel Chapters 7, 8,9,10,11 and 12.
The governments, the rulers, the Kings etc, prophesied to bring to pass those prophecies, can't be working to establish the government and operation of the Antichrist while at the same time, working to establish Gods Kingdom, yea?
I read an article about an Order called "Zoroastrianism", The Ancient Persian religion of Astrology. Its said that While Daniel was in Babylon when all those Kings ruled, this Order also adviced the Kings, When Daniel had his visions about the Messiah and wrote them down, the Babylonian Wise men, were preview to those visions. because only the elit had access to books then.

Rememeber Astrology tell the future and Yahweh warns us seriously against it? The question is, If God is against Astrology, and will not reveal the future to anyone who consults on Him that, who then were these wise men getting their info from? "Satan". Its then save to say, the Zoroastrian Order was of Satan.

If you do Astrology you are xonsulting satan oo

The Elit of this Order, having access to the written documents of Daniel's vision, and the time table therein, handed it down from generation to generation pending when the Messiah will be born.

The race to which the Prophecy was given had forgotten about it, but this Order did not. At the appropriate time, they came and reawokened the very race for which that prophecy was given, to the fact that such prophecy was even given.

Now, They follow a Star all the way from Persia (Todays Iran). A singlr star led them to Judea, While at Jerusalem, they decided not to follow the star again Instead went to Herod, whom satan knew will be incited agaisnt the Child Jesus.

They went in, incited Herod, still came out and took off following the same star from where they left off to where the Child Jesus was. Are you seeing any pattern?


If the star could lead them from Persia to Judea, couldn't the Star lead them to where the Child was straight?

Well, their Job was done, they presented Him with gifts which spoke about his dead even at birth. They left.

This Order knew, that the birth of Christ kick started another phase of the Calender, so they came to see that it began. They went back. That Order is still there even now as we speak, following that Calender silently.

According to Daniel's vision, from when the
Messiah gets cut off to When the Man of Sin shall appear, a Calender is given, and they know it. They are following the evnts unfolding, Waiting Patiently to Usher in the reign of the man of Sin.

These are some of the Sons of Perdition. They are conciously waiting for the enthronement of Satan. They are not decieved, they know what they are doing.

This is my take.

Wow ! Where did you get this knowledge from ?

But I don't get how they could be predestined for such . You mean these followers of Satan were predestined by God or they are acting on their own volition or choice ?

honourhim:
Hello brethren, kindly give your views on predestination as recorded in the scriptures quoted below for more understanding to the readers here(including myself).

Romans 8;28-30

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified


Also

Ephesians 1;4-6, and 10-12.

4 According as he hath chosen[b] us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

5 Having predestinated[b] us [/b]unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
[/b]

Does the above scripture imply that those who are born again now and those who will be born again in future are predestined for it? Which means those who are not predestined to be born again will never be no matter what? And those who are predestined to be born again will be no matter what? Kindly contribute for more understanding. Thanks.


N.B. Pls note that this thread is not intended to mock God. He is the creator and whatever he want cannot be questioned. I.e. assuming what i think about the above scripture is actually what it means.

Look at the verses you quoted from Ephesians 1. The key to understand predestination in this context is to define "US" in the verses. Paul wrote the book and he addressed to the church in Ephesus - see V1 below.

1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.

I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus,[a] who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.

Paul even defined who the Holy people in Ephesus were - faithful followers of Christ Jesus.

So, I believe the "US" in those verses refers to Paul and the people in the church in Ephesus, better still the faithful followers of Christ Jesus in Ephesus. so, could it be that only Paul and there people were predestined bu God? No! because the faithful followers of Christ Jesus in Ephesus increased with time. In a nutshell, as many that are faithful followers of Christ Jesus are predestined.

No, God did not predestined individuals, but as many that will accept the gift of His son will join the group of the predestined ones.

I understand there is a school of believe out there that God actually predestined people for heaven and there is nothing you can do to to leave this group of people or join them. This believe nullifies John 3:16.