Today’s Million Dollar Question
Aren’t there millions of Christians in our own country, not to mention the world, today? What did Jesus mean by this statement?
“However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8
Food for Thought:
I must say, even in context, I don’t know how you explain this one away. I think I favor the first comment of the day from Barb, who so astutely noticed that Joshua and Caleb were the only 2 out of millions to enter the Promised Land. I think this is a huge gem of hint that one must carefully consider.
Personally, I believe the Scriptures teach about three types of believers. You can see this in many places throughout Scripture in word and picture. These types are the called, the chosen, and the faithful/believing (the Greek word “pistos” is translated as either word).
Let’s use one picture from the Israelites. The Israelites were “called” out of Egypt to show a picture of being the first to be redeemed from slavery to sin and death, moving toward the Promised Land. When they got near their destination to the Promised Land, 12 spies were “chosen” to survey the land and report back to the masses. Out of the 12, only 2 were “believing” that God indeed would keep His word and take them successfully into the land. Only 2 out of millions were allowed into the Promised Land, the rest died.
So what does that mean? I believe the Promised Land has two layers of fulfillment. It is first and foremost the fulfillment of the Mosaic Covenant, or the rewards for the faithful few who are truly overcomers (the Joshua and Calebs. Also, Hebrews 11 is a great chapter about these types of people). This fulfillment is the Millennial Kingdom. It is not for all Christians. It is for the faithful, obedient, believing Christians (read Hebrews 4). Now there will be mortals who live during this Kingdom, and that will be wonderful for them too. But there will be a select few throughout history who will be immortals during this special “Sabbath Rest.” I can’t get too into detail now, or I will give away the answer to future questions. Keep following along and I will share more pieces of this picture.
So briefly, the 2nd layer of fulfillment is that the rest of the Israelites would eventually get into the Kingdom, but not at the first phase of the Millennial Kingdom.
So you might ask, what does it matter then, if both groups would get in eventually? According to Hebrew teachings, the Millennial Kingdom is the “crowning age of the ages.” It is also called “the Wedding Feast.” (the everlasting Kingdom is not the Wedding Feast, just the reward phase). It is promised to be a fantastic reward, and who would want to miss out on an extra age (perhaps 1,000 years as described in Revelation) with Jesus?
I believe Joshua and Caleb were the prototype of our day, revealing that there will be very few of the called, chosen, and faithful when Jesus returns to the earth. Paul spoke of this concept a lot. I also love the passage in Revelation:
“These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” Rev. 17:14
P.S. I know of at least 8-10 other pictures of these three types of Christians in the Bible. Let me know if you want to learn more.