Christians To Become As Numerous As The Stars In The Sky? Yes!

[JAG ..]

Will Christians become as numerous as the stars in the sky and as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore? Yes! (See Hebrews 11:11-12)

Does these three Bible verses teach that Christians are now and will be in the future
few in numbers? No!

(A) Luke 12:32's "little flock"
(B) Matthew 7:14's "only a few find it"
(C) Matthew 22:14's "many are invited, but few are chosen"

I think not. Why?

Because there are well over 2,000,000,000 Christians in the world
.and 2 billion Christians cannot be a "little flock" or only a "few".

There are over 16,000,000 Southern Baptist in the United States. Sixteen million
Christians cannot be a "little flock" or a "few."

There are over 1300 mega-churches in the United States with weekly attendance
over 2000. That many Christians cannot be a "little flock" or just a "few"`


Anticipated objection:

"Those people up there are not true Christians."___John SmallChurch

My reply to John SmallChurch:

It is absolutely impossible for you to know for certain that they are not true
Christians. You do not have the power or the authority to judge the hearts
of other people. That's just a fact and its an absolute fact. Only God has the
power and the authority to judge the hearts of people and to know if they
are, or are not, true Christians.

I say all this, John SmallChurch, in the spirit of love and kindness.

Remember this. You, like all Christians, are imperfect. You are not sinless.

Therefore any one of those 2 billion Christians could look at the imperfections
in your life and they could say about you, what you just said about them, namely
that you are not a true Christian. So the conversation can end up like this:

Bob: I am a true Christian, but you Tom, are not a true Christian.
Tom: No Bob, I am a true Christian, but you are not a true Christian.
Bob: No Tom, you do not meet my standards for being a true Christian.
Tom: No Bob, you do not meet my standards for being a true Christian.

_________

I plan to consider these 5 biblical passages regarding the HUGE-ENORMOUS numbers of the Christian Church.

(1) Genesis 22:15-18 with
(2) Galatians 3:6-9 with
(3) Romans 4:16-17 with
(4) Hebrews 11:11-12 with
(5) Revelation 7:9-10

Meanwhile this thought:


"As of the year 2015, Christianity has more than 2.3 billion adherents, out of about 7.5 billion people. The faith represents one-third of the world's population and is the largest religion in the world, with the three largest groups being the Catholic Church, Protestantism, and the Eastern Orthodox Church."

Christianity by country - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

`

Clearly, Christianity is not now a "little flock" and it is impossible to interpret the Bible as teaching that the Christian Church is always going to be a "little flock." When was Christianity a "little flock"? Answer: It was a "little flock" at the time the Lord Jesus spoke the words of Luke 12:32. At that time there was probably less than 300 Christians in the entire world of the 1st century. The Christian Church is not a "little flock" now and will never again be a "little flock."

So?

So clearly these verses . .

(A) Luke 12:32's "little flock"
(B) Matthew 7:14's "only a few find it"
(C) Matthew 22:14's "many are invited, but few are chosen" . . .

. . .are NOT predictive of the future of the numerical size of the Christian Church.

Note: This thread is ONLY on the subject of "Christians To Become As Numerous As The Stars In The Sky? Yes!" and is NOT on the subject of Christian Eschatology. My Opening Post and this thread is limited to the proposition that the Christian Church is NOT now and will never again be a "little flock" or "few" in numbers.

 

[JAG ..]

Genesis 22:15-18

"The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."


Note the particulars:

(1) "I will make your (Abraham) descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore"

(2) "through your offspring all the nations on earth will be blessed."

 

[JAG ..]

Genesis 22:15-18

God said to Abraham, "indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore . . . and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed."

(1) stars

(2) grains of sand on the seashore

(3) all nations of the earth shall be blessed through Abraham's descendants. In Romans and Galatians and Hebrews the New Testament teaches that the Christian Church is the spiritual children of Abraham. More about that later.

Meanwhile:

How many stars are there in the universe? If you google that question, you'll get something like this:

"Multiplying the number of galaxies, which is about 2 trillion, by the 100 million stars in a galaxy suggests there could be about 10 raised to the 20th power stars in the universe."

That would be trillions and trillions of stars.

 

[JAG ..]

Please consider these 5 biblical passages regarding the present and coming HUGE-ENORMOUS numbers of the Christian Church.

(1) Genesis 22:15-18 with
(2) Galatians 3:6-9 with
(3) Romans 4:16-17 with
(4) Hebrews 11:11-12 with
(5) Revelation 7:9-10

Start quote.
"So also Abraham "believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. Galatians 3:6-9
End quote.

In Galatians 3:6-9 Paul teaches that those who have faith are the children of Abraham. (The children of Abraham are therefore the Christian Church.)

In Genesis 22:15-18 God said to Abraham that he would make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as numerous as the sand on the seashore. (millions)

So?

So Genesis 22:15-18 clearly CONNECTS with Galatians 3:6-9

So?

So the numbers of the Christian Church (the children of Abraham) will be as numerous as the numbers of stars in the sky and as numerous as the sand on the seashore.(millions)

So?

So the following verses cannot be applied to the numerical FUTURE of the entire Christian Church . . .

A) Luke 12:32's "little flock"
(B) Matthew 7:14"s "only a few find it"
(C) Matthew 22:14's "many are invited, but few are chosen"

Those verses up there (A), (B), (C) CANNOT be given a historically PREDICTIVE interpretation.

They MUST be interpreted ONLY as describing the numerical conditions of the first century in which they were written.

If you interpret them to refer to the FUTURE numbers of the Christian Church then you have created a contradiction. between Genesis 22:15-18 and Galatians 3:6-9 (and other Bible verses too)

Again the ONLY proposition of my Opening Post and follow-up posts is that the numerical size of the Christian Church is NOT now, and never again will be, a "little flock" or "few" in number.

 

[JAG ..]

Now add Revelation 7:9-10 which says that there is a great multitude of the saved from every nation, tribe, people and language and they are so numerous that no one can count them.

So?

So these verses . . .

(A) Luke 12:32's "little flock"
(B) Matthew 7:14"s "only a few find it"
(C) Matthew 22:14's "many are invited, but few are chosen"

. . CANNOT be given a historically PREDICTIVE interpretation. They ONLY describe the small numbers of Christians who lived in the first century.

 

[JAG ..]

Now consider Hebrews 11:11-12 and Romans 4: 16-17

Hebrews 11:11-12 says that from Abraham came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. This is a NEW TESTAMENT verse that says clearly that the Christian Church is NOT going to remain a "little flock." or just a "few".

Abraham's descendants have been clearly identified as the Christian Church in the verses up-post and down-post.

Then add Romans 4: 16-17 that teaches that "Abraham's offspring" is the Christian Church and says clearly that "He (Abraham) is the father of us all."

So?

So there is no POSSIBLE way to interpret . . .

(A) Luke 12:32's "little flock"
(B) Matthew 7:14's "only a few find it"
(C) Matthew 22:14's "many are invited, but few are chosen"

. . .as being historically PREDICTIVE of the FUTURE numbers of the Christian Church.

Conclusion:

The final numbers of the Christian Church will be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.

The Christian Church is NOT now and will NEVER again be just a "few" or a "little flock."

 

[JAG ..]

"I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it" ___The Lord Jesus in Matthew 16:18 NIV

Note the phrase "I will BUILD my church" Does not this phrase and this verse clearly suggest that the numerical size of His church will not forever be a "little flock" and only a "few"? My view is that the Lord Jesus could not successfully BUILD His church if it forever remained a "little flock" and only a "few" in numbers?

_______


Then consider the Lord Jesus's Great Commission at the end of Matthew's gospel chapter 28.

Start quote.
"Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:16-20
End quote.

Note the particulars:

(1) The Lord Jesus told His disciples to go and make disciples of ALL the nations, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

(2) The Lord Jesus explained that they were to do this because He NOW had been
given all authority in both Heaven and on Earth.

(3) This "all authority{" that the Lord Jesus NOW has both in Heaven and on Earth is the reason why His disciples would be successful in making disciples of ALL the nations.

So?

So Matthew 28:16-20 clearly teaches that the Christian Church will not forever remain a "little flock" and only a "few" in numbers?

My view is that it would be impossible for the disciples of the Lord Jesus to successfully make disciples of ALL nations teaching them to obey the commands of the Lord Jesus --- and at the same time the Christian Church remain only a "little flock" and only be a "few" in numbers?

So?

So regarding the Opening Post and all my follow-up posts in this thread, I conclude that the proposition "The Christian Church is NOT now and will NEVER again be just a "few" or a "little flock{" --has been established as true.

 

[Prycejosh1987]

What about the people who will not be saved. Its must higher than 2 billion. I think stars in the sky would include all people that believed at one point. Remember the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man went to hell but he called Abraham father.