From Is Open Theism Heretical or Biblical?
* Prophecies are often God foretelling what He Himself will later bring to pass. So they often have to do more with God’s omnipotence to bring about His plans then merely foreseeing the future: Gen. 3:15; 1 Kin. 8:15, 8:20, 8:24, 13:32 (with 2 Kin. 23:1-3, 15-18); 2 Kings 19:25; 2 Chron. 1:9 (1 Chron. 6:4; 10, 15); 2 Chron 36:21-22; Ezra 1:1; Isa. 5:19, 25:1-2, 37:26, 42:9 (with vs. 16); 46:10; Jer. 29:10, 32:24, 32:28, 33:14-15, Lam. 3:37; Eze. 12:25, 17:24, 33:29, 33:33; Dan. 4:33, 4:37; Acts 3:18, 27:32-35; Rev. 17:17. This type of prophecy includes the prophecies of the Messiah. So His birth, the location of His birth, the miracle of His birth, were not accidents or merely foreseen events, but were the deliberate plan of God (Gen. 3:15; Isa. 9:6; 53:6; Acts 2:23, 4:28)
I am very close to adopting Open Theism. There is, however, one sticking point. Prophecy. I am trying to wrap my head around it. For instance, when dealing with Cyrus, Joseph I Egypt, and in Gen. 15:13-15 about Israel’s 400 year captivity to name a few, I see some answers appeal to a compatibilist view of freedom. This bothers me. I hold that Calvinism is a slander to God’s character as revealed in Scripture. I too often hear inconsistent Calvinists speak in compatibilist terms while supporting determinism, then flipping to libertarian terms when speaking about man’s responsibility for sin. I know God is power and that Open Theism states that the future is partly determined and partly open, but I wonder if the appeal to compatibilist Freedom to answer some questions about prophecy is being inconsistent to a theology that holds libertarian freedom as the truth. Any help or guidance that can be given will be greatly appreciated. I have just about driven myself crazy trying to wrap my head around this.