Our apologies for the two part video.
Our apologies for the two part video.
THE FEW
In John 6, we read these words spoken by Jesus:
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;
Therefore anyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.
(John 6:44,45)
From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.
(John 6:66)
In Acts1, we are told that in the upper room Peter stood in the midst of the disciples and…
…the number of names was about a hundred and twenty…
(Acts 1:15)
During His ministry, Jesus spoke to thousands of people who seemed enthusiastic enough to, at least on one occasion, want to make Him their king.
…Jesus perceived that they were about to come
and take Him by force to make Him king…
(John 6:15)
They had been so taken with His miracles, and what was happening, that it seemed they would follow forever but, in reality, it seems they were more enthralled by what Jesus could do for them than for who Jesus in fact was. And when they determined that He was not there just to do their bidding many left.
And so it is still today. There are many who have apparently heard but have not learned from the Father. Even though the Gospel can be preached in all the world, there seems to be few at present who learn from it. This goes along with what we are told will develop as time goes on. Even though technology makes if easier to spread the Good News, there seems to be fewer and fewer people accepting and learning it. As it states in 2 Thessalonians:
Let no one deceive you…
for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first…
(2 Thessalonians 2:3)
And that falling away certainly seems to be happening at present. An article in the Globe and Mail more than 17 years ago pointed out that church attendance had dropped from 60 percent in 1945 to 21 percent in 2005; with one university student admitting that:
“I don’t know the Bible.”*
If people can hear about the Father through all means of technology but don’t learn about the Father then are they among those who don’t come to Jesus or…
…[turn] back and walk with Him no more.
(John 6:66)
And, is this also in part why we are told…
…narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life,
and there are few who find it[?]
(Matthew 7:14)
For there are apparently many who have heard but have not
…learned from the Father…
(John 6:45)
As a result, and as Jesus Himself said:
…many will come in My name…
and will deceive many.
(Matthew 24:5)
Apparently motivated by Satan who…
…deceives the whole world…
(Revelation 12:9)
When Jesus did not provide for the people exactly what they wanted, they apparently did not learn what they needed to know about Him and so walked away. How many of us today still hear but do not learn, so that only a few are left?
It is something to think about.
*Friesen, Joe. “The Bible is no longer considered part of the conversation.” Global and Mail, Apr 10, 2009. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/incoming/the-bible-is-no-longer-considered-part-of-the-conversation/article1196374/
THREE WARNINGS
In the Bible, the number three is considered, among other things, to represent something real, and solid; a completeness and spiritual perfection. A few examples include:
Additionally,
We should therefore take seriously the three main warnings or events mentioned in Scripture. The first of these, of course, was the flood. In those days…
…the wickedness of man was great in the earth…
(Genesis 6:5)
…and the earth was filled with violence.
(Genesis 6:11)
As per usual, the masses,
They ate, they drank, they married wives, [and] were given in marriage,
until the day…the flood came and destroyed them all.
(Luke 17:27)
So, evidently people everywhere ignored the warnings even though it took about 80 years for Noah to complete the ark.
The second main warning was that of a coming Messiah. This had been foretold for centuries by the prophets of old. Micah wrote about the coming judgement of Israel and the future triumph of Zion due to the coming of the Messiah.
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you be little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me,
The One to be Ruler in Israel…
(Micah 5:2)
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given…
[And] of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end…
(Isaiah 9:6,7)
Hundreds of years passed between these prophecies and the coming of the Messiah. During that time people forgot, at least in Judah, and everyone apparently just went about their business as usual. It was the wise men of the East who told Herod that it was:
…In Bethlehem of Judea…
…is He who was born King of the Jews[.]
(Matthew 2:5,2)
However, the coming of the Messiah was ignored and He was even rejected by His people.
…He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
(Luke 17:25)
But there is yet another warning in Scripture that most don’t accept - that Christ will come again. And again, the usual warning is in place. Scripture states that:
…as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man.
(Luke 17:26)
We are also told:
…that Day will not come unless a falling away comes first…
(2 Thessalonians 2:3)
For many will come in My name…and will deceive many
And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars.
For nation will rise up against nation…
And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
[And] many will be offended, will betray one another…
And because lawlessness will abound,
the love of many will grow cold.
(Matthew 24:5-6,7,10,12)
Over the past few years, we have seen all of the above and in increasing frequency and severity. But as has been the case before, most of the world continues to ignore what is happening and continues to go on as usual. We never seem to learn from history. Two events have occurred after warnings; we now have the warning about the third and that would apparently make the prophecies complete. Are we, like others in the past, going to ignore what we have been given?
It certainly is something to think about.