[Gamecock]

He still hardened it, didn't He? Doesn't matter who started it.

[PetroniusMaximus]

He still hardened it, didn't He?

Indeed, He did. God does not take a passive role in the damnation of the unrighteous. CS Lewis was wrong, hell is not locked from the inside. Once people have shown what they want - o­nce they have come to the end of their striving against the Holy Spirit - God will confirm them in their damnation.


Doesn't matter who started it.

It matters very much!!! Every word in the Bible matters. The Holy Spirit inspired the words "Pharaoh hardened" as much as He inspired the words "The Lord hardened".

The Biblical pattern is that God cuts off those who, having been given a chance, rejected it. That is the patern with Pharaoh and that is the pattern in the NT. The order in Romans 1 is Revelation > Rejection > Retribution.

God "gives over" people to that which they have show that they truly want.