Biblical Prophecy vs. Open Theism: A Fatal Mismatch

Open Theists often argue that God does not know future free decisions—not due to any lack of power or intelligence, but because, on their view, there is simply nothing there to be known. On this model (especially in its “Dynamic Omniscience” form), God knows all truths—but future-tensed propositions about libertarianly free choices are simply not true yet. They don't exist. As a result, God doesn’t have beliefs about them and can’t be wrong.

But here’s the dilemma: Scripture is filled with prophetic declarations about free human actions—especially sinful ones—many that stretch across centuries. These are not probabilistic forecasts. They’re specific and confident truth-claims about what morally responsible agents will freely do—and that, by definition, implies the truth of future-tensed propositions.

And that’s a massive problem for Open Theism.

A Closer Look: Five Prophecies of Free Sin

To press the issue, let’s look at five striking examples where God—or Jesus—makes truth claims about sinful actions that would occur far into the future:

Prophecy	Scripture	Time Gap	Sinful Action Foreknown	Libertarian Free Choices Required	Why This Defies Dynamic Omniscience

Judas’s Betrayal

Psalm 41:9 → John 13:18–30

~1,000 years

Betrayal of Jesus

Judas must freely choose betrayal

Either God determined the betrayal, or made a truth claim about a non-existent future

Crucifixion of Christ

Isaiah 53 → Gospels

~700 years

Rejection & murder of Messiah

Jewish leaders & Romans must act freely

Prophecy specifies free human sin centuries in advance

Peter’s Denial

Luke 22:34 → Luke 22:60–62

~12 hours

Denying Jesus 3x

Peter’s sinful choices must be free

Either Jesus knew future free acts—or guessed correctly (or God determined these three evils acts)

Israel’s Idolatry

Deut. 31:16 → Judges 2+

100+ years

Worship of foreign gods

Repeated, uncoerced rebellion

Either determined, or foreknown despite freedom

Sale of Joseph

Gen. 37 → Gen. 42–45

~25 years

Selling brother into slavery

Brothers freely sin out of envy

God planned the end without causally determining evil (Gen. 50:20)

Each prophecy involves foreknowledge of free moral evil (not causally determined by God) across long time gaps—yet none can be explained by mere probability or divine determination.

This list is far from exhaustive, but even these few cases span a wide range of sins: betrayal, murder, denial, idolatry, and familial treachery.<1> In each case, God (or a prophet speaking for Him) explicitly declares what free human beings will do. And each of these statements was fulfilled without divine coercion or manipulation.

Now consider the incredible span of time between prophecy and fulfillment—often hundreds of years or more. Some are short (Peter’s denial in detail). Others span hundreds or even a thousand years. But all involve libertarianly free sins—actions that could have gone otherwise (lest one say that God causally determines human evil).

The Timeline Doesn’t Lie: Prophecy Across Centuries of Free Sin

Let’s visualize the timeline:

From the sale of Joseph (around 1900 BC) to Judas’s betrayal of Jesus (around AD 30), we’re looking at nearly two millennia of free human decisions, cultural shifts, and countless contingencies. Yet God speaks through prophecy as if He knows exactly what’s coming—and not in vague terms, but in ways that depend on morally responsible, undetermined actions.

Forcing the Open Theist’s Hand

So here’s the forced choice:

1. If the Bible records true prophecies of sinful, libertarianly free actions, then God made truth claims about events that, according to Open Theism, had no truth value at the time of the prediction. → God made truth claims about future libertarian actions. → But Open Theists say such truths don’t exist yet.

2. If God can’t make truth claims about libertarian free actions because no such truths exist, then → Either God guessed and got lucky (which is fantastically improbable), or → God determined all of these sins to ensure His prophecy came true.

The odds of guessing each event correctly—especially when they depend on countless libertarianly free human sins unfolding over centuries—are cosmically low. This is not only controversial, but literally unbelievable! But the second option makes Open Theists functionally indistinguishable from Calvinists on this point—both would have to say God causally determined sinful actions to ensure a prophecy's fulfillment. That’s a theological price most Open Theists are rightfully unwilling to pay.

In short, Open Theism can’t account for biblical prophecy without either affirming divine extreme lucky guessing or attributing sin and evil to God’s determination.

Mere Molinism: A Better Option

Molinism offers a way forward. On this view, God knows what any free creature would do in any circumstance. This allows Him to make prophecy—not based on deterministic causation or probability—but on middle knowledge of libertarian free choices. Judas didn’t have to betray Jesus—but God knew that if placed in those circumstances, he would.

Thus, God can foreknow Peter’s triple denial, Israel’s idolatry, and the murder of Christ without causally determining any of these evils.

Conclusion

The prophetic record doesn’t just challenge Open Theism—it undercuts it. From Joseph’s brothers to Peter’s triple denial, Scripture reveals a God who makes detailed, long-range truth claims about human sins that He does not causally determine.

That’s not a lucky guess. That’s not a gamble.

That's not Open Theism. That’s omniscience.

And that’s exactly the kind of God the Bible reveals—a God who can be trusted, even across centuries of human freedom.

Stay Reasonable (Isaiah 1:18),

Dr. Tim Stratton

Notes

<1>Honorable Mentions:

• Psalm 22:16 (“They pierce my hands and feet”) – Implies sinful crucifixion, ~1000 years prior.

• Zechariah 11:12–13 – Prophecy of 30 pieces of silver (betrayal price for Christ).

• Matthew 24:10–12 – Future betrayal and apostasy in the end times.