Q
Re: Your article “Between First Fruits and Pentecost.” If as you say “… He knew the Israelites would not (repent). But as I’ve said before, knowing the future is not the same as controlling it”, then how could the Israelites have chosen differently?
A
The Israelites were free to choose any way they liked, just as you and I are. The offer of the Kingdom was there for them to accept or reject. God neither influenced their choice nor controlled it, He simply knew in advance what their choice would be. If anything, He presented overwhelming evidence from their own Scripture that the option to accept the Kingdom was the better choice. If they had not been free to choose, He couldn’t have held them accountable for the choice they made.