Many theologians reject the Calvinist doctrine of “Double Predestination,” which asserts that God has predestined some individuals to salvation (the Elect) and others to condemnation (the Reprobate). These theologians emphasize that scripture affirms God’s desire for all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4) and for “everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9), suggesting that salvation is not limited to a preselected group. Despite these clear passages, committed Calvinists often interpret them in a way that aligns with their doctrine of limited atonement and unconditional election, asserting that these texts do not conflict with double predestination.
Centuries of theological debate have failed to definitively challenge the entrenched doctrine of double predestination. However, this doctrine rests on an “unsound inference”: the idea that humanity is divided solely into two groups—the Elect and the Reprobate. This inference is not an explicit biblical statement. A closer look at scripture, supported by early Jewish teachings, suggests a more nuanced Trichotomous View that divides humanity into three distinct categories:
- The Foreordained (Elect) – Those predestined for salvation (Romans 8:29-30).
- The Contingent (Middling) – Those whose final status depends on their response to God’s grace (Titus 2:11; Romans 2:6-7).
- The Unyielding (Reprobate) – Those who persist in rejection and disobedience (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12; Romans 1:21-24).
Historical and Scriptural Roots of the Trichotomous View
This Trichotomy has strong support not only in Christian scripture but also in early Jewish teachings, specifically from the School of Hillel, which influenced the Apostle Paul (Acts 22:3; 23:6). This school taught a view of humanity divided into the Righteous, Middling, and Wicked, as documented in the Babylonian Talmud:
Rabbinic Teaching (Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 16b-17a):
- Three books are opened by God on the New Year: one for the thoroughly righteous, one for the thoroughly wicked, and one for the middling.
- The righteous are immediately inscribed for life.
- The wicked are immediately inscribed for death.
- The middling are left in suspense from New Year until the Day of Atonement, when their fate is determined based on their deeds.
Rabbi Abin supports this view using Psalm 69:28: “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living. Let them not be inscribed among the righteous.” His reasoning: There are three books one for each group to start:
- The Book of Life has the names of the thoroughly righteous.
- The undetermined middling are not blotted out of the book of the living.
- The Wicked are not inscribed with the righteous middling and are blotted out of the book of life.
Scriptural Support for the Trichotomy
- 1) The hot = The Righteous; 2) The cold = The Wicked; 3) The “middling” neither hot or cold, undetermined Middle.
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. (Rev. 3:15-16 KJV) - 1) The good soil = The Righteous; 2) The Choked by thorns = Undetermined Middle; 3) The fowls eat seed by wayside =the wicked. (Luke 8:5-8).
- 1) Christ’s brethren = The Righteous; 2) The Sheep =Undetermined Middle; 3)The Goats = The wicked.
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
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40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Matt. 25:31-40 KJV)
In the early church the “sheep and goats” are members of the Church in all the nations who weren’t saved before Christ appeared. Both call Christ “LORD” and both knew what Christ commanded but only the sheep began doing what He commanded. Its not about unsaved in the nations who wouldn’t know Christ’s commands about helping the poor, sick and imprisoned.Romans 11:7, 12, 25-26 show the Jewish and Gentile “Fulness” obtain salvation after the Elect and together all these add up to the full number of those saved, “All Israel”. - The Existence of Names that can be blotted out of the Book of Life (Revelation 3:5):
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
As the Names of the Elect inscribed in the book of Life “from the foundation of the world” can never be blotted out, the existence of the undetermined middle and the wicked constitute those who “may not be blotted out” or “will be blotted out. - The Existence of Books for Different Groups (Revelation 20:11-15)
Revelation 20:12-15 describes the final judgment where multiple books are opened, and the dead are judged by their deeds. The Book of Life is opened so names can be added. That the list of names changed is implied by the reinspection of the book of life just before casting the wicked into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:15) - The Predestined Elect (Romans 8:29-30); The Contingent Middle (Titus 2:11; Romans 2:6-7); The Unyielding Wicked (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12; Romans 1:21-24)
Scriptural and Historical Proofs of the Middling Group
Malachi 3:16-18 affirms a group that stands between the thoroughly righteous and the wicked:
- “Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD…”
- This “book of remembrance” suggests a group whose fate depends on their deeds and devotion.
Conclusion
The Trichotomous Division of humanity is rooted in scripture and early Jewish teachings, revealing that:
- The Foreordained (Elect) are those chosen for salvation from the beginning.
- The Contingent (Middling) are those whose ultimate destiny depends on their response to God’s grace and their actions.
- The Unyielding (Wicked) are those who persistently reject God’s truth and face condemnation.
This view disproves the binary construct of double predestination making reprobation the corollary of predestination. The Trichotomous Division taught in scripture provides a more complete understanding, one where God’s desire for all to come to repentance (1 Timothy 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9) can be actualized and the potential for change in the Middling according to their own Free Will choice is acknowledged. It maintains the integrity of scripture while providing a deeper, more comprehensive approach to divine judgment and human freedom.