Are there few who are saved, or a great multitude no one could number?

[Alfred Persson]

23 Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them,
24 "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. (Lk. 13:23-24 NKJ)

9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" (Rev. 7:9-10 NKJ)

All Scripture is inspired by God and therefore is 100% truth (2 Tim. 3:16-17; John 17:17; Dan. 10:21); truth cannot contradict itself. Therefore, both statements are true: Few are saved and no one can number the saved.

When two statements of scripture seem to be in contradiction, the correct context will prove the contradiction was "apparent" only, not "real." Just a "paradox".

So, what is the context where "only a few are saved" but "no one could number" those saved?

 

[KV-44-v1]

23 Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them,
24 "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. (Lk. 13:23-24 NKJ)

9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" (Rev. 7:9-10 NKJ)

All Scripture is inspired by God and therefore is 100% truth (2 Tim. 3:16-17; John 17:17; Dan. 10:21); truth cannot contradict itself. Therefore, both statements are true: Few are saved and no one can number the saved.

When two statements of scripture seem to be in contradiction, the correct context will prove the contradiction was "apparent" only, not "real." Just a "paradox".

So, what is the context where "only a few are saved" but "no one could number" those saved?

yes, a number doesnt have to be large to be uncountable.
We do not know how many is the few.
"no one can number" means no man can count or quantify, NOT necessarily "a very large number".
we tend to assume innumerable refers to large ---- but it can also refer to small!!

TLDR:
Innumerable is referring to humans ability to quantify, count! Not how big or small the number is!

 

[Tenchi]

So, what is the context where "only a few are saved" but "no one could number" those saved?

If there is a countless number of people who are saved but the Bible says that few find the Narrow Way to Life, then it stands to reason that, however countless the number of the saved, the number of unsaved is far greater.

 

[Alfred Persson]

If there is a countless number of people who are saved but the Bible says that few find the Narrow Way to Life, then it stands to reason that, however countless the number of the saved, the number of unsaved is far greater.

Context isn't a logical construct we might make to reconcile the statement. Context is given by scripture. The OP asks for the scripture context that resolves the paradox.

But logically, your argument is unsound. It assumes unsaved are greater than the saved, then concludes the number of unsaved is far greater. That is circular reasoning.

Abraham was promised his descendants would uncountable like the stars in heaven:

Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." (Gen. 15:5 NKJ)

Most assume this is hyperbole, but if we include the numbers of children that will be born during the 1,000 year reign of Christ, a time of no death and unhindered reproduction....billions upon billions of more humans could be born.

Then it stands to reason, the number of saved is far less than those who were lost.

No one creates an assembly line that delivers less usable products than trash. That being so, why would God do so? Clearly, He would not:

22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,
24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
25 As He says also in Hosea: "I will call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who was not beloved."
26 "And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them,`You are not My people,' There they shall be called sons of the living God." (Rom. 9:22-26 NKJ)

 

[Alfred Persson]

yes, a number doesnt have to be large to be uncountable.
We do not know how many is the few.
"no one can number" means no man can count or quantify, NOT necessarily "a very large number".
we tend to assume innumerable refers to large ---- but it can also refer to small!!

TLDR:
Innumerable is referring to humans ability to quantify, count! Not how big or small the number is!

For the scripture context that resolves the paradox, we must read the surrounding verses of scripture to know if they both refer to the same thing. For example, the uncountable are those saved during the Great Tribulation (Rev. 7:14).

When Jesus said only a few would be saved He wasn't talking about the entire world. Context indicates "few were saved" from the 'evil and wicked generation of Jews who rejected Him' (Mt. 12:38-45) [Some commenting on the way Jerusalemites behaved during the Temple's Destruction described them as "demonically insane"].

Jesus is the "narrow gate" to life, everything else the "broad way" including the way the Jews mis-practiced the Law of Moses. It was supposed to lead them to faith in God, not transactional legalism:

30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith;
31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness.
32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.
33 As it is written: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."
(Rom. 9:30-33 NKJ)

From that "evil and wicked generation" of Jews, only a few were saved. History confirms Jesus' assessment. Notice how "the few" respond on Judgment Day. They claim Jesus taught them. That identifies who Christ said were "few":

23 Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them,
24 "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
25 "When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying,`Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you,`I do not know you, where you are from,'
26 "then you will begin to say,`We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.'
27 "But He will say,`I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'
28 "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.
29 "They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.
30 "And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last." (Lk. 13:23-30 NKJ)

Notice the contrast Christ makes, the few of His generation compared to everyone who comes "from the east and the west, from the north and the south". That contrast implies He is comparing a "few" with "many" or perhaps, an uncountable number.

 

[journeyman]

23 Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them,
24 "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. (Lk. 13:23-24 NKJ)

9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" (Rev. 7:9-10 NKJ)

All Scripture is inspired by God and therefore is 100% truth (2 Tim. 3:16-17; John 17:17; Dan. 10:21); truth cannot contradict itself. Therefore, both statements are true: Few are saved and no one can number the saved.

When two statements of scripture seem to be in contradiction, the correct context will prove the contradiction was "apparent" only, not "real." Just a "paradox".

So, what is the context where "only a few are saved" but "no one could number" those saved?

There will be few just before our Lord returns, as it was in the days of Noah.
There is an uncountable number since the beginning.

 

[Tenchi]

But logically, your argument is unsound. It assumes unsaved are greater than the saved, then concludes the number of unsaved is far greater. That is circular reasoning.

???

I began with the premise that there are more who find the Broad Way to Destruction than those who find the Narrow Way on the basis, not of pure conjecture, as you've asserted, but of what Christ himself said,

Matthew 7:13-14
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

 

[KV-44-v1]

No one creates an assembly line that delivers less usable products than trash. That being so, why would God do so? Clearly, He would not:

So you believe that there will be more saved than unsaved??
Your analogy is flawed in two aspects, because products have no freewill. Humans do.
Products don't have a SIN nature AND the World AND demons pressuring them to be "trash". Humans do.

 

[Alfred Persson]

???

I began with the premise that there are more who find the Broad Way to Destruction than those who find the Narrow Way on the basis, not of pure conjecture, as you've asserted, but of what Christ himself said,

Matthew 7:13-14
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

That wasn't your argument, this was and it is circular:

If there is a countless number of people who are saved but the Bible says that few find the Narrow Way to Life, then it stands to reason that, however countless the number of the saved, the number of unsaved is far greater.


If Christ's statement in Mt. 7:13-14 contained the complete context, then its a "no brainer" few are less than many. But Matthew didn't provide the entire context, Luke does. AND there its clear Christ implied "few Jews of my generation would be saved, in contrast to MANY from the four corners of the earth will be saved":

23 Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them,
24 "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
25 "When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying,`Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you,`I do not know you, where you are from,'
26 "then you will begin to say,`We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.'
27 "But He will say,`I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'
28 "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.
29 "They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.
30 "And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last." (Lk. 13:23-30 NKJ)

 

[Tenchi]

That wasn't your argument, this was and it is circular:

If there is a countless number of people who are saved but the Bible says that few find the Narrow Way to Life, then it stands to reason that, however countless the number of the saved, the number of unsaved is far greater.

I don't think you actually understand what a circular argument is...

Please consider my words: "...but the Bible says...".

 

[GodsGrace]

That wasn't your argument, this was and it is circular:

If there is a countless number of people who are saved but the Bible says that few find the Narrow Way to Life, then it stands to reason that, however countless the number of the saved, the number of unsaved is far greater.


If Christ's statement in Mt. 7:13-14 contained the complete context, then its a "no brainer" few are less than many. But Matthew didn't provide the entire context, Luke does. AND there its clear Christ implied "few Jews of my generation would be saved, in contrast to MANY from the four corners of the earth will be saved":

23 Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them,
24 "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
25 "When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying,`Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you,`I do not know you, where you are from,'
26 "then you will begin to say,`We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.'
27 "But He will say,`I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'
28 "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.
29 "They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.
30 "And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last." (Lk. 13:23-30 NKJ)

There are 100 persons living on earth.

Narrow is the path and few there be that find it.
Few find it....
30 (maybe) find the narrow path.
70 remain lost.

Now do the math and multiply the above by all the persons that have inhabited the earth.

Is the OP more difficult than this?

Few are they that find the narrow gate.
But many are those that have found it....a great multitude.

As Tenchi is pointing out...
the lost are MORE in number.

 

[LeviR]

23 Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them,
24 "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. (Lk. 13:23-24 NKJ)

9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" (Rev. 7:9-10 NKJ)

All Scripture is inspired by God and therefore is 100% truth (2 Tim. 3:16-17; John 17:17; Dan. 10:21); truth cannot contradict itself. Therefore, both statements are true: Few are saved and no one can number the saved.

When two statements of scripture seem to be in contradiction, the correct context will prove the contradiction was "apparent" only, not "real." Just a "paradox".

So, what is the context where "only a few are saved" but "no one could number" those saved?

I threw my net into the sea. When I brought it in I had caught an innumerable number of fish.
I had caught only a very small fraction of the total number of fish in the sea, but it was enough.
All I needed to do at that point was to sort through what I caught. There were keepers and throw backs.

 

[Carry_Your_Name]

So, what is the context where "only a few are saved" but "no one could number" those saved?

The context is the Abrahamic covenant, he will have a multitude of descendants that "no one could number". The "few" part is spoken in relative terms. On a global scale, obviously only a small percentage really know Jesus and follow his words.

I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. (Gen. 13:16.)

He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” (Gen. 15:5)

 

[NoahK]

yes, a number doesnt have to be large to be uncountable.
We do not know how many is the few.
"no one can number" means no man can count or quantify, NOT necessarily "a very large number".
we tend to assume innumerable refers to large ---- but it can also refer to small!!

TLDR:
Innumerable is referring to humans ability to quantify, count! Not how big or small the number is!

I am reminded of Christ's Words on this topic. The love of many will grow cold. And when He taught us about choosing the narrow gate or the wide gate.

 

[Alfred Persson]

There are 100 persons living on earth.

Narrow is the path and few there be that find it.
Few find it....
30 (maybe) find the narrow path.
70 remain lost.

Now do the math and multiply the above by all the persons that have inhabited the earth.

Is the OP more difficult than this?

Few are they that find the narrow gate.
But many are those that have found it....a great multitude.

As Tenchi is pointing out...
the lost are MORE in number.

The context in Luke shows "few" is in relation to Israel, while in Revelation "uncountable" is in relation to the entire earth.

If there are 100 persons living in Israel when Christ preached,
Few find it...
30 find the narrow path, 70 weep and gnash teeth:

28 "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.

BUT scripture context puts the "uncountable" in relation to the entire earth:

29 "They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.

9 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; (Rev. 7:9 KJV)

Therefore, both the numbers 30 and 70 are irrelevant to the "uncountable number" which may be in the billions.

Your illustration compares "apples to oranges", a "pinch of salt" to a "mountain of salt".

The saved are vastly more than the "few".

Yes, it was a "trick question", but with good intent. Inspire people to study the Scripture context carefully, before drawing conclusions.

 

[Alfred Persson]

I don't think you actually understand what a circular argument is...

Please consider my words: "...but the Bible says...".

I misspoke, its a false dichotomy, not circular. "Few" is in relation to the generation of Jews who Christ personally taught, as history proves "few" of that generation of Jews became Christians. "Uncountable" is in relation to the entire planet, therefore vastly outnumbers the "few".

 

[Alfred Persson]

Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them, (Lk. 13:23 NKJ)

Why did the disciple ask this? Is the disciple drawing conclusions from Jesus' teaching? Did the Jewish pseudepigrapha influence him? The OT:

Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! For what good is the day of the LORD to you? It will be darkness, and not light. (Amos 5:18 NKJ)

11 "I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir. (Isa. 13:11-12 NKJ)

We don't know. But Jesus applies "the few" to the "evil and wicked generation" of Jews who rejected Him, saying Gentiles will rise on Judgment Day to condemn them. That implies they were saved, otherwise they wouldn't be condemning anyone:

29 And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
30 "For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.
31 "The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.
32 "The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. (Lk. 11:29-32 NKJ)

These different national groups complicate the "few" versus "many" calculation.

Jesus Himself distinguished the evil and wicked generation of Jews He personally taught who ate and drank in His presence and were "few", from the rest of the earth's population:


28 "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.
29 "They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.
30 "And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last." (Lk. 13:28-30 NKJ)

Because Jesus speaks of two different "control groups", implying MANY from the four corners of the earth do find the narrow door, applying "few are saved" to the entire population of humans throughout history seems to be unsound.

It may be more context can resolve the "few find the narrow door" on their own, but God has a plan to "fix" that defect in man. Make it so no one's destiny requires they "find" the narrow door on their own. Perhaps God ensures everyone is shown the narrow door, so they can make a choice:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Rom. 8:28 NKJ)

For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. (1 Pet. 4:6 NKJ)

26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. (Heb. 9:26-28 NKJ)

25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins."
28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.
29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience,
31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy.
32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! (Rom. 11:25-33 NKJ)

From these scriptures one can deduce God's Plan fixes the problem of only a few finding Jesus on their own, by making sure all who die who didn't commit eternal sins, hear the gospel and can choose to live according to God in the Spirit. Giving them all a chance to enter through the narrow door into life:

30 "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
31 "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
32 "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matt. 12:30-32 NKJ)

Only those irreconcilably against Christ, will be eternally lost in the "age to come".

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[Carry_Your_Name]

I misspoke, its a false dichotomy, not circular. "Few" is in relation to the generation of Jews who Christ personally taught, as history proves "few" of that generation of Jews became Christians. "Uncountable" is in relation to the entire planet, therefore vastly outnumbers the "few".

I have one question, though. Do these countless saints come from THE final great tribulation of three and a half years? Or any kind of tribulation throughout history, you know, against Christians such as the Inquisition? This is very important, because if it's the former case, as in most bible translations, then it would have terrifying implications: not only will the remnant Christians will go through the Great Tribulation - not "raptured" out, they will also be martyrred for Christ, a seemingly very consistent message throughout the book of Revelation. Nobody from the previous generations in the church age will be included in that Great Multitude because they didn't come from THE great tribulation.

Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Rev. 7:13-14)

When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. (Rev. 6:9)

The dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Rev. 12:17)

It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. (Rev. 13:7)

I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (Rev. 20:4)

 

[GodsGrace]

The context in Luke shows "few" is in relation to Israel, while in Revelation "uncountable" is in relation to the entire earth.

If there are 100 persons living in Israel when Christ preached,
Few find it...
30 find the narrow path, 70 weep and gnash teeth:

28 "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.

BUT scripture context puts the "uncountable" in relation to the entire earth:

29 "They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.

9 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; (Rev. 7:9 KJV)

Therefore, both the numbers 30 and 70 are irrelevant to the "uncountable number" which may be in the billions.

Your illustration compares "apples to oranges", a "pinch of salt" to a "mountain of salt".

The saved are vastly more than the "few".

Yes, it was a "trick question", but with good intent. Inspire people to study the Scripture context carefully, before drawing conclusions.

Well AP
My reply stands.
You just have your own opinion as to what it means.
Was the NT written for everyone?
No trick question.
Oh my.
It refers to the OT....
I do believe that in the verse you provided about Abraham it does mention ALL NATIONS.

So do we use the OT to apply to ALL NATIONS...
or only Israel/the Jews?



Jesus said that even The Law is not abolished.
Did He mean only for the Jews or for ALL NATIONS?

What did He mean anyway?
Seems we Christians can't even agree on that.

Thanks for the exchange.

 

[Who Me]

All Scripture is inspired by God and therefore is 100% truth

The passage in luke13:23 is a question being asked by the crowd. It is not a statement being made by Jesus.
Note how Jesus answers the question by telling them to strive to be accepted.
He doesn't answer the question.

Please note I scripture we have reports of lies, immoral behaviour and illegal acts.
Scripture does not say that this behaviour is right or that lies are true, rather it is an accurate record of what happened.