Many Will Say To Me
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me IN THAT DAY, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23)
The "many" who have prophesied in Jesus' name, cast out demons, and done wonders in his name "in that day" cannot be unbelievers, atheists and Muslims, etc. None of them do such things.
So who are the "many"?
Assuming we are “in that day” today, the "many" are probably:
1. Many Jewsish religious leaders who deny Jesus is their Messiah.
2. Many Christian leaders calling him Lord and preaching and teaching in his name...Catholics, Protestants and Independents.
3. Many Christian leaders casting out demons, prophesying in his name and doing wonders in his name.....of the “full gospel” or charismatic variety most likely.
It is interesting that it is not a few, but "many".
The phrases "kingdom of heaven" and "in that day" is most likely a reference to the time of the Second Coming of Jesus to the earth.
It makes sense to me that the phrase "who does the will of my Father" is a reference to the few who actually believe what God says in the Bible like...
"Behold the Lamb of God which TAKES AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD" (John 1:29)
"...this is indeed the Christ, the SAVIOR OF THE WORLD" (John 4:42)
"...we trust in the living God WHO IS THE SAVIOR OF ALL MEN" (1 Timothy 4:10)
And those "who practice lawlessness" are the "many" who think they are following the Lord and the Law when they actually "have destroyed the authority" of the word of God by their "traditions" and myths like the Jews were doing when Jesus came the first time...
"Because of your traditions you have destroyed the authority of God's word. And you do many other things like that." (Mark 7:13).
It has been almost 2000 years since Jesus spoke, and we may be close to the second coming of the Lord. If so, "many" Jews who claim to follow the Law of Moses, and "many" Christians who claim to follow Christ may find they have been deceived.
"Many" will apparently miss out on the millennial reign of Christ on the earth and the subsequent Age of the Ages (New Heaven and Earth) that follows. Why?
Just my opinion, but I think it is because they do not believe God and prefer the teaching of "wise men." In effect, they deny the gospel (good news) of what Jesus accomplished as a result of the amazing GRACE of God. They claim to be following him, some even prophesy, cast out demons, and do wonders in his name.
Following "wise men" is not wise unless these wise men agree with the Bible. The Jews at the time of Jesus and Paul trusted the oral traditions of the rabbis the same way modern Christians now trust their leaders.
And how did that work out for them?
God nor Jesus need our help in saving mankind. From my study over the past 40 years, I have become sincerely concerned about some of the traditional teaching of the Church. So in faith I post my thoughts on Facebook just in case anyone cares to abandon the traditions of men before the Lord shows up. The Kingdom Age (Millennium) and the Age of the New Heaven and Earth are going to be fun and I would hate for "many" to miss out on it.
Finally, "many" think I am wrong.