Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure”
– Isaiah 46:6-10Verse 10 is often used to “prove” that God is outside of time and therefore has perfect knowledge of the future. Yet, the text only signifies that God “from the beginning” (indication of time) declares what will happen in “the end” (the future, another indication of time). You can read this as meaning that God, who is outside of time, on a certain moment (speaking from a human perspective) states what He will do in the future (again, speaking from a human perspective). The most natural reading, however, seems to me that God simply lives in sequence, just like human beings. The platonistic concept that God is outside of time, is not necessary, is not a natural reading of the text and has to be read into the text (eisegesis) to arrive at that conclusion. If I take the context into account (this is always a necessity), then I see that the meaning of verse 10 is simply that God can say that He is going to do something and He can even accomplish this. The idols cannot speak, let alone tell in advance what they will carry out.