Are we being called separate from the world?
The subject of whether we are called out from the rest of the world to be part of the first resurrection has caused a lot of resentment among Christians, and that is why it is important that we take a look at what the Bible says on the subject.
Come judgment day, how will humanity be judged?
Christ's words in maroon.
MAT 13:
18-23
|
Hear you therefore the parable of the
sower.
When any one hears the word of (God) the kingdom, and does not understand it, then comes the wicked one, and takes away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. (Those that never heard the word of God or understood) But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that hears the word, and anon (straight forward, true, sincere, straightway, immediately, forthwith) with joy receives it; Yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while: for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word (obeying Gods word), by and by he is offended (is embarrassed keeping Gods word). (Those that heard the word of God and understood but caved in to persecution or peer pressure) He also that received seed among the thorns is he that hears the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word (cares more for the things of the world than pleasing God), and he becomes unfruitful. (Those that heard the word of God and understood but cared more for the pleasures of the world) But he that received seed into the good ground is he that hears the word, and understands it; which also bears fruit, and brings forth, ... (Those that heard the word of God and live according to it) |
Concerning the judgment of those that have heard the truth.
MAL 3:
16
|
Then they that feared the LORD spoke often to one
another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance
was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought
upon his name.
|
MAL 4: 1-3 |
For, behold, the day comes, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yes, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that comes shall burn them up, says the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch (totally destroyed). But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, says the LORD of hosts. |
MAT 3:
10-12
|
And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees
(Gods people): therefore every tree which does not bring forth
good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
... Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor (the earth), and gather his wheat (people living godly lives) into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff (people living ungodly lives) with unquenchable fire. |
MAT 5:
20
|
For I say unto you, That except your
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees, ye shall in no way enter into the kingdom of heaven.
|
MAT 7:
13-14
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Enter you in at the strait gate: for
wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction
(Get that? Destruction! Not a
second chance), and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads
unto life, and few there be that find it.
|
MAT 7:
19-23
|
Every tree (person)
that does not bring forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into
the fire (destroyed).
... Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but only he that doeth the will (follows
the word of God) of my
Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and
in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me,
you that work iniquity. (These
are those that follow a false Christianity)
|
MAT 12:
36-37
|
But I say unto you, That every idle
word that men shall speak, they shall give account
thereof in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by thy words you shall be condemned. |
MAT 13:
49-50
|
So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels
shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And
shall cast them into the furnace of fire:
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LUKE
13: 23-27
|
... Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto
them, Strive to enter in at the
strait gate: for many, I say unto you, many will seek to enter in, and
shall not be able. When
once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door (judgment
day), and you begin to stand
without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us;
and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not who you are:
Then shall you begin to say, We
have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our
streets (these people heard
the truth and did not act upon it).
But he shall say, I tell you, I
know not who you are; ...
|
ACT 10:
34-35
|
Then Peter said, Of a truth I perceive that God is
no respecter of persons (not
calling only a select few into the kingdom):
But in every nation he that fears him, and
works righteousness, is accepted
(accepted into the kingdom)
with him.
|
Concerning the judgment of those that have not heard the truth.
EZE
18: 4
|
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul
of the son is mine: the soul that sins, it shall die. (not speaking
of just the body)
|
EZE
18: 20-27
|
The soul that sins, it shall die. ... But if the
wicked
will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my
statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live,
he shall not die (at the second resurrection). ... But when the righteous
turns away from his
righteousness, and commits iniquity, and doeth according to all the
abominations that the wicked man
doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall
not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his
sin that he hath sinned, in them he shall die. Again, when the
wicked
man turns away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth
that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive (will
be part of the first resurrection).
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COR2 5:
10
|
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of
Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body,
according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
|
JOHN
9: 39-41
|
And Jesus said, For judgment I
am come into this world, that they which see not (mislead
concerning the truth) might see;
and that they which see might be made blind
(know the truth yet
corrupt/twist). And
some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and
said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus
said unto them, If ye were blind
(did not know the truth), ye should have no sin: but now
ye say, We see; therefore your sin remains.
|
ROM 2:
5-16
|
But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasures
up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the
righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according
to his deeds: To them who by patient
continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality,
eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the
truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation
and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew
first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace,
to every man that works good, to the Jew first, and also to the
Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God. For
as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law:
and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For
not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the
law shall be justified. For when the
Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in
the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which
show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience
also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or
else excusing one another;) In the day when
God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my
gospel.
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COR1 5:
9-13
|
I wrote unto you in an epistle not to keep company with
fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this
world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for
then must your needs go out of the world (yet it is ok if it is
in an effort to preach to them). But
now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is
called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a
railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to
eat (it is not ok to keep company with them if they already
know the truth). For what have I to do to judge them also
that are without? do not you judge them that are within? (As
Christians we are to judge those within the body) But
them that are without God judges. (God will judge those outside
the body of believers on judgment day)
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When is the judgment of the dead that are not part of the first resurrection?
MAT 13:
37-43
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He answered ..., He that sows the good
seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the
children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked
one (those that do not follow
the word of God); The enemy
that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world;
and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered
and burned in the fire (destroyed);
so shall it be in the end of this world
(when the kingdom of God is finally established once and for all,
called the second resurrection).
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out
of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And
shall cast them into a furnace of fire (destroyed):
...
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MAT 13:
47-50
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Again, the kingdom of heaven is
like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every
kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and
gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it
be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever
the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace
of fire (destroyed):
...
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MARK 9:
1
|
... Verily I say unto you, That there be
some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death
(speaking of the final death at the
final/second resurrection), till they
have seen the kingdom of God come with power.
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REV 20:
11-15
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And I saw a great white throne (this is after
Christ has ruled for a 1000yrs, and is now handing over things to
the Father), and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth
and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And
I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the
books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of
life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were
written in the books, according to their works. And
the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell
delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every
man according to their works. And death and
hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into
the lake of fire.
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Are only some called at this time?
MAT 5:
6
|
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness (anyone): for
they shall be filled.
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MAT 7:
7-8
|
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall
find; knock, and
it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asks receives; and
he that
seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. (pretty
claer that one has to want to know the truth, and then seek it)
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MAT 9:
13
|
for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
(calling ALL sinners!)
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MAT 11:
28-29
|
Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. (come
to me, all, now not at another time)
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MAT 13:
13-15
|
therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and
hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is
fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which says, By hearing you shall hear, and
shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and
their
eyes they (THEY, it doesn't say the Lord closed their eyes) have closed; lest at any time
(at anytime they could have known the truth)
they should see with their eyes, and
hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be
converted, and I should heal them.
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MAT 20:
16
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... for many are called,
but few chosen. (it doesn't say only a few are called, many, few are
chosen because they refuse to follow)
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MAT
22: 1-14
|
And Jesus answered and spoke unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king, which made a marriage for his
son, ... Go you therefore into the highways, and as many
as you will find, invite to the marriage. So those servants went out into
the highways, and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good:
and the wedding was furnished with guests. ...
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JOHN 3:
14-21
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... That whosoever believes in him should not perish,
but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world
to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He
that believes on him is not condemned: but he that believes not is
condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is
come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because
their deeds were evil. For every one that does evil hates the light,
neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he
that does truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest,
that they are wrought in God.
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JOHN 6:
44-47
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No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him: and
I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And
they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that has heard, and has
learned of the Father, comes unto me. … Verily, verily, I say unto
you, He that believes on me has everlasting life.
(it is clear that anyone who hears, learns, and
believes the word/gospel of Christ makes a choice, at that point they are or are
not drawn to God based on their own choice.)
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ROM 10:
13-17
|
for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed (heard of)? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! (Preachers are for a reason, to call sinners to repent, if we where called special by God there would be no need for preachers.) But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias says, Lord, who has believed our report? So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. (All the KNOWN world at that time had heard) |
Something to think about, and of those that died prior to Christ coming the first time?
PET1
3: 18-20
|
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just
for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in
the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which
also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which
sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited
in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that
is, eight souls were saved by water.
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PET1
4: 5-6
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Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge
the quick and the dead.
For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them
that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh,
but live according to God in the spirit.
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It appears from all the verses above, that, ALL have access to eternal life. ALL are called to come out of this evil world. ALL have a right to the first resurrection.
It ALL comes down to whether a person hears the word, accepts/believes the word and acts on that belief.
