There is a meme on social media showing a large mega-church with many thousands of people in attendance. Another photo shows a very small gathering or assembly of people for bible study.
The caption indicates you will have a massive following if you teach what people want to hear, and a very small following if you teach the truth.
The concept is stated in scripture for us as well:
2Timothy 4:2-4
2 Proclaim the Word! Be urgent in season, out of season. Convict, warn, appeal, with all
patience and teaching. 3 For there shall be a time when they shall not bear sound teaching, but according to their own desires, they shall heap up for themselves teachers tickling the ear, 4 and they shall indeed turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to myths.
Yeshua Messiah [Jesus] made a statement that quantifies the idea for us:
Matthew 7:13-14
13 “Enter in through the narrow gate! Because the gate is wide – and the way is broad – that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter in through it.
14 “Because the gate is narrow and the way is hard pressed which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
We can go all the way back to the prophets for confirmation that these ideas are well entrenched in our religious culture today, just as they foretold would happen:
Jeremiah describes what has become of religion in end times:
Jeremiah 16:19-20
19 O יהוה, my strength and my stronghold and my refuge, in the day of distress the nations shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers have inherited only falsehood, futility, and there is no value in them.”
20 Would a man make gods for himself, which are not gods?
Ezekiel, so very many years ago, accurately describes our modern church situation:
Ezekiel 22:25-28
25 “There is a conspiracy of her prophets [teachers] in her midst, like a
roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured life, they have taken wealth
and precious matters, they have made many widows in her midst.
26 “Her priests have done violence to My teaching and they profane My set-apart matters. They have not distinguished between the set-apart and profane, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean. And they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned in their midst.
27 “Her leaders in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy lives, and to get greedy gain.
28 “And her prophets have coated them with whitewash, seeing a false vision, and divining a lie for them, saying, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה,’ when יהוה had not spoken.
As set-apart followers of Elohim, should our thoughts and
ideas line up with scripture regarding the nature of religion today?
If I had to characterize my blog, I’d say this is one of the key components of
the many articles I’ve written and shared here.
I try to tie my thoughts and ideas to the direct quotes of Yehova [God] and
Yeshua Messiah [Jesus]. We are told in
scripture that we need to know Their Voice.
What does that mean?
We need to study the scriptures and learn the things They have said.
As we learn what They said, we also learn Their Character.
We learn Their expectations.
We learn Their standards of behavior.
We learn Their instructions on how to live.
We learn about the promises They have made in scripture.
We learn about the warnings They have given in scripture.
Knowing the Voice of Elohim is incredibly important.
Here are two of many direct quotes advising us to do so:
Words of Yehova, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob:
Deuteronomy 13:3-4
“…for יהוה your Elohim is testing you to know whether you love יהוה your Elohim
with all your heart and with all your being. Walk after יהוה your Elohim and
fear Him, and guard His commands and obey His Voice, and serve Him and cling to
Him.
Words of Yeshua Messiah, our Savior:
John 10:27-28
27“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28 And I give them everlasting life, and they shall by no means ever perish, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.”
I have found that if we know the Voice of Elohim, we
learn some very discouraging things about religion in the world, including
Christianity. Much of my blog is
dedicated to this idea.
Some people get angry and frustrated with me because of it. But I don’t think they understand my motivation. I’ve been accused of being judgmental,
critical, arrogant, and exclusive. I’ve
been called a dangerous heretic. I’ve
been accused of trying to decide for myself who is in the Kingdom and who is
not in the Kingdom.
But that is not the case.
I do not study and share these articles to “exclude people from the Kingdom.”
In fact, I do so hoping to INCLUDE people in the Kingdom.
I do not have that authority or responsibility to exclude
anyone, nor would I want it.
I share these articles to help people learn the Voice of Yehova and the Voice
of Yeshua.
People need to know the warnings They’ve given, along with the harsh
consequences of not heeding these warnings.
I study and share these warnings out of love for others, especially for people
who may be in line to receive the consequences of warnings instead of the
promises of scripture.
Truth is not often well received, especially by those in need of it.
I once shared nothing but the direct quotes of Yeshua Messiah (Jesus).
It was a list of approximately ten warnings He has given in scripture.
I did not add my thoughts or commentary.
I simply quoted Messiah.
A person told me to, “Stop it!”
They said I had no love in me, and the words I had shared felt like they were being
beat on with a hammer. This was their response to the very words of Messiah.
They did not know His warnings, and they especially did not like His warnings once
they were presented.
Knowing His warnings is just as important as knowing His promises.
Maybe even more so…
Remember what Messiah said?
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”
We must hear His Voice.
All of His Voice, not just the parts we like.
And sadly, this person was a self-proclaimed leader in a Torah fellowship.
A Torah leader who does not know the Voice of Yeshua Messiah.
In other words, there are problems within the community of Torah as well…
I’ve come to realize that scripture is not always pleasant.
There are many people in the world who are only interested in warm and fuzzy verses.
Refer to the mega-church photo above.
Yes, there are many places that will tell you about promises and blessings, and
ONLY promises and blessings.
Everyone must decide what it is they want.
Only promises and blessings?
Or whole truth?
Even if the whole truth might cause some self-reflection and life changes?
Recently a friend sincerely asked me if maybe I’m getting
things wrong…
Maybe I’m missing some information that might change things for the non-Torah
mainstream Christians.
Instead of rejecting her questions, thoughts, and ideas I tried to answer her
honestly and to the best of my ability. The following is my response, and I’m
sharing it here to help people understand why I do this blog.
Really great question, and not an easy one to answer…
But I’ll explain where I’m coming from.
#1
I am not trying to decide who gets to be in the kingdom and who does not get to
be in the kingdom.
Only Yeshua Messiah has the authority to make such a decision for anyone.
Matthew 28:18
18 And יהושע came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given
to Me in heaven and on earth”
We know from scripture that Yeshua will separate the sheep from the goats. But
we also learn that His standard is not subjective. In fact, Yeshua even tells
us He did not come to judge the world, but to save it. He says that we do have
a judge, and it is the word that was spoken. He goes on to say His command is the
Father’s command, and the Father’s command brings everlasting life.
It is good for us to know that the criteria for being in the kingdom, or not,
is based on the Word and is not subjective.
It is a level playing field, and the same standard exists for all.
John 12
47“And if anyone hears My Words but does not watch over them, I do not judge
him. For I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
48He who rejects Me, and does not receive My Words, has one who judges him: the
Word that I have spoken shall judge him in the last day.
49“Because I spoke not from Myself, but the Father who sent Me has given Me a
command, what I should say and what I should speak.
50“And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I
speak, as the Father has said to Me, so I speak.”
People often criticize me, saying I am being exclusive.
They say I’m trying to decide who is in the kingdom and who is not in the
kingdom via my studies and blog articles.
I do not try to accomplish this. I don’t have the authority to do so, nor would
I want to.
But Yeshua is very clear…
We will all be judged by the Word that was spoken.
Yeshua makes it clear that we must know the things He said, and that we must
heed His words, and we must obey His words.
Again, John 12…
48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My Words, has one who judges him:
the Word that I have spoken shall judge him in the last day.
My goal is not to include/exclude people by my studies.
My goal is to know the Voice of Elohim and to share what Yehova and Yeshua say
with others.
Yehova and Yeshua speak of who will be in the Kingdom and who will not be in
the Kingdom.
I’m just trying to be the messenger.
#2
Along the same theme, I do not try to classify people into what their eternal
fate might be.
I have no doubt there are atheists who [today] completely reject Yehova, reject
Messiah, and reject the word — but will be in the Kingdom.
Where someone stands today does not mean that is where they will remain.
Every single person has the opportunity to turn their hearts to Yah. If not
today, then tomorrow, or next month, or next year, or in five years…
As long as they have breath and life, they have opportunity to submit their
will to the Father’s will.
Can we compare where someone is ‘right now’ to the Word that was spoken?
Yes, we can.
And I do exactly this.
Not to criticize or exclude, but to warn.
More often than not, people do not like the warning.
But who knows…
Maybe one day they will need to call on our Creator, and they will remember…
#3
I make a deliberate effort to NOT speculate on future events that are difficult
to understand [ie Revelation, Daniel, and various end time prophecies].
I study and I pray for wisdom as James 1:5-8 tells us:
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of Elohim, who gives to all
generously and without reproach, and it shall be given to him.
6 But he should ask in belief, not doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For that man should not think that he shall receive whatever from the Master –
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
…but I still do not understand everything.
Some things are not revealed.
Many people will speculate, read into things trying to connect the dots,
arriving at some type of conclusion that is not specifically stated in
scripture.
There was a time when I did this, but I no longer try to do so.
Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us that we will not know and understand everything.
I accept this and I’m comfortable not knowing.
#4
With that in mind, let’s look at your question:
“how do you think the few mentioned in Matthew 7:14 should be reconciled
with the great multitude in Revelation 7:9?”
— Without speculation or imagination, all we can do is look at the
information contained in scripture and do our best.
Yeshua said this:
13 “Enter in through the narrow gate! Because the gate is wide – and the way is
broad – that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter in through it.
14 “Because the gate is narrow and the way is hard pressed which leads to life,
and there are few who find it.”
The first thing we have to do is recognize that these words came from the mouth
of Messiah.
Not only can we believe this, but we must believe this.
He said it, therefore it is truth.
We could start speculating, trying to define “few”.
Can we put a number on it?
No, we are not given enough information to quantify this.
But we can take the warning to heart, and make efforts to be one of the few.
How do we do that?
We learn the Voice of Yehova and obey Him.
He tells us what brings life and blessing, and what brings death and curse.
Do we conduct our lives according to the Word that was spoken?
Or do we do our own thing, speculating what we can or cannot get away with and
still be included in the kingdom?
We must learn the Voice of Yeshua, and heed the things He said.
If we do this, then we will be one of the few, no matter how many that actually
is.
As men, we don’t have to define this concept.
Simply know the Voice of Elohim, and walk in His ways, obeying ALL that He
commanded.
This phrase is repeated numerous times in scripture, both by Yehova and Yeshua.
Do we believe them?
Do we agree to obey ALL that They have commanded?
Or do we think close enough is good enough?
In Rev 7:9 we see this:
9After this I looked and saw a great crowd which no one was able to count, out
of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne
and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, and palm branches in
their hands,
10and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Deliverance belongs to our Elohim
who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Is this speaking of billions?
Is this speaking of millions?
I don’t know.
It doesn’t say.
Imagine this…
If one were to go to a professional sports event in a stadium, can you
successfully count 30,000 people?
Can you successfully count 50,000 people?
Can we even count 10,000 people without making an error?
We know in Revelation that 144,000 will have the sign/mark of Yehova.
Can we count a mass of 144,000?
Or from our perspective, will they seem like too many to count?
Or are we talking about millions or billions of people?
This is an event that will take place in the future.
I don’t know the answer to these questions.
All I can do is look at what is written in the scriptures, and accept them as
fact.
Yah promises that Israel, His chosen people, will be restored one day. I
believe we live in THE GENERATION where this is beginning.
We know Israel was divorced from the covenant and scattered among all the
nations of the earth. They were not just exiled from the land, but also from
God Himself and from the Torah.
That is what scripture tells us.
It is fact.
Yah said that He would not only not remember them [Israel] but He also would
not remember their children.
This is stated in scripture.
If we believe the Voice of Elohim, then we can accept this as fact.
But…
The good news is that Yah promises to restore His people.
The Torah/Truth will flow from Zion.
We are experiencing this now.
The duration of exile has ended, and people are again gaining understanding of
the Torah.
But we are still in exile.
Jeremiah 16:14 tells us there will be a second exodus, greater than the first.
Once again, Yah will gather His people and remove them from Mitsrayim/Egypt
[the World, Babylon]
.
Will this exodus consist of millions or billions of people around the earth?
Not if we believe the scriptures.
First of all, Yah tells us that in the exile, Israel will be destroyed such
that few remain.
Deuteronomy 28:20
20“יהוה sends on you the curse, the confusion, and the rebuke in all that you
set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly,
because of the evil of your doings by which you have forsaken Me.
Deuteronomy 28:45
45“And all these curses shall come upon you, and they shall pursue and overtake
you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of יהוה your
Elohim, to guard His commands and His laws which He commanded you.
Deuteronomy 28:62-64
62“And you shall be left with few men, although you had become as numerous as
the stars of the heavens, because you did not obey the voice of יהוה your
Elohim.
63“And it shall be, that as יהוה rejoiced over you to do you good and increase
you, so יהוה does rejoice over you to destroy you and lay you waste. And you
shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess.
64“And יהוה shall scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to
the other, and there you shall serve other mighty ones, which neither you nor
your fathers have known, wood and stone.
These are the Words of Yehova.
These are His warnings to Israel.
But Israel did not heed His Voice, and these consequences came to pass.
As verse 62 states, there will be few left of Israel.
That is where we are today.
The exile duration is over, and people are being called to Torah.
Most don’t hear, because they do not know the Voice of Elohim.
For those who do hear, some submit their hearts and their will to the Father
and walk in His ways.
It would seem that many, though, only submit a little. They walk in His ways a
little, but not a lot.
These are the lukewarm. Those who hear His call, but are stiff necked and
rebellious. Just like we see in the first exodus story.
There are many statements in scripture about the restoration of Israel.
Here is one in Deuteronomy 30
1“And it shall be, when all these words come upon you, the blessing and the
curse which I have set before you, and you shall bring them back to your heart
among all the nations where יהוה your Elohim drives you,
2and shall turn back to יהוה your Elohim and obey His voice, according to all
that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your being, you and
your children,
3then יהוה your Elohim shall turn back your captivity, and shall have
compassion on you, and He shall turn back and gather you from all the peoples
where יהוה your Elohim has scattered you.
4“If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under the heavens, from
there יהוה your Elohim does gather you, and from there He does take you.
5“And יהוה your Elohim shall bring you to the land which your fathers
possessed, and you shall possess it. And He shall do good to you, and increase
you more than your fathers.
6“And יהוה your Elohim shall circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed,
to love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being, so that
you might live,
7and יהוה your Elohim shall put all these curses on your enemies and on those
who hate you, who persecuted you.
8“And you shall turn back and obey the voice of יהוה and do all His commands
which I command you today.
9“And יהוה your Elohim shall make you have excess in all the work of your hand,
in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit
of your ground for good. For יהוה turns back to rejoice over you for good as He
rejoiced over your fathers,
10if you obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim, to guard His commands and His laws
which are written in this Book of the Torah, if you turn back to יהוה your
Elohim with all your heart and with all your being.
11“For this command which I am commanding you today, it is not too hard for
you, nor is it far off.
12“It is not in the heavens, to say, ‘Who shall ascend into the heavens for us,
and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, so that we do it?’
13Nor is it beyond the sea, to say, ‘Who shall go over the sea for us, and
bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, so that we do it?’ ”
14“For the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart – to do it.
15See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil,”
16in that I am commanding you today to love יהוה your Elohim, to walk in His ways,
and to guard His commands, and His laws, and His right-rulings. And you shall
live and increase, and יהוה your Elohim shall bless you in the land which you
go to possess.
Do you see the criteria in verse 2?
” you and your children,”
Sadly, the first generation of the exodus did not obey Yehova.
They grumbled and complained and did not have faith.
They refused His Voice and His promises.
They even wanted to quit and go back to Mitsrayim.
And what happened?
They all died in the wilderness, except Joshua and Caleb who followed Yehova
with their whole hearts.
Do you see the relevance?
The first generation died off without receiving the promise.
But their children did, after much tribulation and testing.
This will play out again.
There is a second exodus coming.
It is foretold, and it will happen.
Deut 30:2 tells us that both the first and subsequent generations (your
children) must turn back to Him and walk in His ways, obeying His Voice
according to all that is commanded.
In the original exodus story, two men (few) made it to the promise.
What are we told about the re-gathering of Israel?
Jeremiah 3
14“Return, O backsliding children,” declares יהוה, “for I shall rule over you,
and shall take you, one from a city and two from a clan, and shall bring you to
Tsiyon.
How many are gathered?
One from a city…
Two from a clan…
Just as in the first exodus story, few will make it in the restoration.
One here, two there…
Not masses.
Not entire Torah fellowships.
One here, two there.
It will be quite selective. Those who follow partially, or walk in partial
obedience instead of obeying all that is commanded will not be included.
Who are those that are included?
Philadelphia.
Revelation 3
7“And to the messenger of the assembly in Philadelphia write, ‘He who is
set-apart, He who is true, He who has the key of Dawiḏ, He who opens and no
one shuts, and shuts and no one opens, says this:
8“I know your works – see, I have set before you an open door, and no one is
able to shut it – that you have little power, yet have guarded My Word, and
have not denied My Name.
9“See, I am giving up those of the congregation of Satan, who say they are
Yehuḏim and are not, but lie. See, I am making them come and worship before
your feet, and to know that I have loved you.
10“Because you have guarded My Word of endurance, I also shall guard you from
the hour of trial which shall come upon all the world, to try those who dwell
on the earth.
11“See, I am coming speedily! Hold what you have that no one take your crown.
12“He who overcomes, I shall make him a supporting post in the Dwelling Place
of My Elohim, and he shall by no means go out. And I shall write on him the
Name of My Elohim and the name of the city of My Elohim, the renewed
Yerushalayim, which comes down out of the heaven from My Elohim, and My renewed
Name.
The few who love Yah with their whole heart will be excluded from tribulation.
They will be protected from harsh and difficult things, like no other time in
the history of mankind.
This is what I’m trying to teach people today.
Know the Voice of Yehova
Know the Voice of Yeshua Messiah.
Obey all that They command.
It will bring life and blessing to do so.
Our goal is not to do as little as possible and still make it in.
Our goal is to know the Voice of Elohim, and walk in His ways because of our
love for Him and for Messiah.
Going back to Revelation, to a crowd too numerous to count.
We understand the reason for tribulation, the great and fearful day of Yehova.
It is a test.
It is a merciful last chance.
There are those who reject Elohim, or are lukewarm followers, who will be
tested by tribulation.
Many will see in that time the seriousness of all this.
While some will be angry and shake their fist at God, many will submit their
hearts to Him.
We are told that their heads will be lifted from them by those in the world.
But it is better to enter the kingdom with a destroyed physical body than to
not enter the kingdom.
Maybe the countless masses are those who turn to Yehova in tribulation.
I do not know the answers to future events, and I do not try to speculate
as to exactly what will happen.
I will praise Yah, that His plan, even tribulation, will bring about good
results.
In the meantime, I will study the words of Yah and the words of Yeshua, and the
rest of the scriptures.
I will believe what they say.
Even the harsh things they say in warning.
I will do my very best to help people be one from this city, two from this
clan.
I will do my very best to help people be Team Philadelphia.
I do not have all the answers, and I do not need them.
I know enough to obey the words of this Torah, and to encourage others to do so
as well.
Deuteronomy 29:29
29“The secret matters belong to יהוה our Elohim, but what is revealed belongs
to us and to our children forever, to do all the Words of this Torah.
Excellent post!