Many saved

“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” (Heb. 9:28).

The word “many” used by the writer of Hebrews sounds restrictive in that the writer didn’t say, “everyone” or “the whole world”. It’s the same word used by Isaiah and Daniel.

“He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isa. 53:11,12).

“And He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations He shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” (Dan. 9:27).

Yet, John clearly says that Christ’s sacrifice was for the whole world. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 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 believeth on Him is not condemned: but He that believeth not is condemned already, because He hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (Jn. 3:16-18).

But, John also gives a caveat for all who are saved, that is, “whosoever believeth in Him.” The apostles gives another description of this saved group. “And this spake he [Caiaphas] not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; and not for that nation only, but that also He should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.” (Jn. 11:51,52).
John also earlier narrowed down the saved group with this description, “All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” (Jn. 6:37). “But I said unto you, That ye also have seen Me, and believe not.” (Jn. 6:36). Evidently then, not everyone that the Father calls, comes to Jesus.

This must connect with the limitations put on salvation given by the writer of Hebrews.

“And for this cause He is the Mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” (Heb. 9:15).

Jesus said, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matt. 22:14). Why is this? Hebrews explains this. “And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: that ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, He sware by Himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he  [Abraham] had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.” (Heb. 6:11-15). “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end.” (Heb. 3:14).

So, the gospel isn’t cheapened by the idea that, all I have to do is some mental gymnastics for a few seconds, or that some ethereal epiphany of imagining Jesus in heaven qualifies as faith in Him. Rather, it has everything to do with daily walking with Him as Abraham did, striving to stay in communion with Him against all of Satan’s  distractions away from Him, patiently enduring the difficult path to surrender and victory over our inborn distrust in God, and falling on Him and having our natural hardened heart, self-pity and opinion that we “deserve better in life”, and self-will broken into shivers.

We also can see that the fullest blessing of salvation doesn’t come immediately; and also, that many lose it before receiving it. This concept destroys the prosperity gospel that is sweeping through the church like wild-fire. It makes us accountable before the truth, as we live through our investigative judgment in this anti-typical Day of Atonement. (“Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD…. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.”) (Lev. 23:27,29). This also destroys the celebration churches sweeping through Christianity today.

“Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come.” (Rev. 14:7). Fearing God, standing before Him in judgment, has always been the condition of His people, and always will.

“Sanctify the LORD of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. And,” for some “He shall be for a sanctuary; but” for others, “a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken. Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My disciples.” (Isa. 8:13-16).

“Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” (Heb. 4:1).

“Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him.” (Heb. 2:1-3).

“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

For we know Him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto Me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His people.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb. 10:26-31).

“Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire.” (Heb. 12:28-29).

“Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” (Jer. 2:12,13).

Know your Bible, or you will be caught up in the final delusions before Jesus returns. Fear God–its only for your own eternal good. Fear God and fall on Jesus and be broken, or you will fall into Satan’s hands and be forever ruined. Fear God enough to come to Jesus for His mediation and mercy. Patiently endure the hardships God permits through Satan; let your inherited wretchedness keep you needing a Savior from sin; and you will finally inherit the promises of God.

One last word: Abraham didn’t receive the promises on his last day of life. And obviously, he received them during his life, or Hebrews 6:15 would have been written in the future tense, that is, after the great, final resurrection. But ,he “rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it, and was glad,” (Jn. 8:56) and received the blessing from God when he passed his final test of whether to hold back Isaac from God or give him up.

So, we don’t have to wait until we drop into the grave to receive God’s promise of full salvation; but we do have to strive for it and patiently wait on God for it.

The early church had received it.

“That we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.” (Eph. 1:12-14).

“And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” (Eph. 2:6-8).

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” (Eph. 3:17-19).

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:7).

We can have it as soon as we finish our course and learn full faith and surrender to Jesus.

“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in his temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” (Rev. 7:9-17).