Hi Mike,

First I hope all goes well with you and Sandi and all that are around you. I wish you God’s blessings and wisdom in your work. Mike, I am still busy with translating your work into Dutch. I think I have almost enough to start up the website, and God willing, I will do so on short notice.
I have translated the first papers on “After the Counsel of His Own Will”. I’m at the part of Jacob and Esau now. Here I found something that is unclear to me. I found this in the paper: 

Both are born of the elect. But just as Judas despised his elect position as one of Christ’s twelve disciples “whom also he named apostles” (Luk 6:13), and traded his eonian birthright for thirty pieces of silver; so Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soup.

The fact of the matter is, that they did do what they did, but they did what they did because it was “After the Counsel of His Own Will”. As I understand it, Judas was made to despise, was made a vessel of dishonor, was subjected to the work of Satan, who also did what had to be done. Both Judas and Esau were subjected to the sovereignty of God…. and did all because they were… like Pharaoh, created for the purposes they served.

Can you believe that I am already looking forward very much to the moment these things will be clear to me. I know that there will be a time that God will make me understand in full… maybe not in this clay- vessel… but there will be a time.

In Christ connected,
R____

Hi R____,
Thank you for this update. I find this all to be very exciting.

You ask about why Judas and Esau chose evil over good. Your analysis is exactly right. They both do exactly what they were caused to do by God Himself. Here is the last paragraph of that section of that paper:

He was not rejected because he chose to despise his birthright, but he chose to despise his birthright “that the purpose of God might stand…” (Rom. 9:11). His choice was a God- caused choice “that the purpose of God according to election [ before he was born] might stand…” Every choice made by either Jacob or Esau was a caused choice… caused by “principalities [ and]… powers in the celestials” (Eph. 6:12).

What you may be struggling with is my use of the words ‘choose’ or the word ‘choice.’ We must be careful never to deny that we all do make choices by the hundreds and thousands every day. That we do make choices is manifestly true, and we must never deny this truth. The scriptures even agree with this truth:

Jos 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that [ were] on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

What the natural man cannot see is the truth that every single choice any man has ever made in all of mankind’s history has been a caused choice, caused by the great Cause of all. There is not exception to this rule. This is both a scriptural and a scientific fact. Nothing happens that is not caused to happen:

Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Does this mean virtually everything? What do the scriptures teach?

Eph 1:11 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:

So if ever you see me pointing out that we do make decisions, please remember that I am never, Lord willing, saying that we do so apart from the sovereign all powerful, hand of God “working all things after the counsel of His own will.”
I hope this is of some help to you. Please keep me posted when you get your site up. It will be the first time these writings have been translated into another language.
God bless you both as you strive through Him to be of service to Him.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike