Originally Posted by savedbygrace57,
you do understand those who are lost and remain in unbelief, that the Cross obviously was not for them!
Though I agree with you concerning God's
total and
complete sovereignty in ALL things, your statement above is not accurate - it is
incomplete.
The statement SHOULD read:
"To those who are lost and remain in unbelief, the Cross obviously was not for them...... AT THIS TIME!
You do not have a proper understanding of
the AGES [Greek - aions]. Of course there are many who are being called right now, but
very few of
'those many' are being
'chosen.'
Matthew 22:14 "For many are called, but few are chosen."
This is the time of the
"firstfruits." This is the
AGE [aion] of the firstfruits. The aion of the
"latter harvest" is not represented by the 'feast of firstfruits' in
the summer; it is represented by the feast of
fall festival, the
"feast of ingathering."
Exodus 23:16 "And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
Exodus 34:22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end."
The church was founded on
'The Day of Pentecost,' known in the Old Testament as
"the feast of firstfruits."
Notice what Christ said God had
"given Him:"
John 17:9 "I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the [whole]
world [of mankind at this time],
but of those whom You have given Me [as
"firstfruits" - James 1:18]
; for they are Yours [firstfruits]."
God has
three seasons in which He gathers His
"fruits" [seed = children].
Exodus 23:14 "Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
Exodus 23:15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty.
Exodus 23:16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours [Pentecost]
, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering [Tabernacles], which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field."
The first season was when the
"first of the firstfruits" was brought to God. Christ is called
"the first of the firstfruits," "that in all things He might have the preeminence."
1 Corinthians 15:20 "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept."
Colossians 1:18 "And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence."
What is the next season?
Who is
'harvested,' to God in the next season? (these are fully covered above - here is a portion):
Exodus 23:16 "And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours [Pentecost]
, which thou hast sown in the field."
These
'firstfruits' are what James calls
"a kind of firstfruits:"
James 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth [That is Christ]
, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."
The first two seasons bring an appointed
fraction of "fruits" unto God [Matthew 22:14
"For many are called, but few are chosen."]
(and no; I'm not a Pentecostal - or whatever that denomination is called)
This
fraction of fruits are what you refer to as
"the elect," and you are correct as far as them being
"few" in number when compared to the
"whole harvest." But this is where
YOU stop harvesting - however,
GOD DOES NOT STOP THERE!
Exodus 23:16 "...And the feast of ingathering [Tabernacles]
, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field."
The
"third season" is called
"the feast of ingathering." When does it occur?
"Which is in the end of the year, when you gather in thy labors out of the field."
What is the
'field?' The Lord Himself tells us:
Matthew 13:38 "The field is the world; [The entire
world which
"God so loved," that
He sent His Son to save the World]
This
"feast of ingathering" brings
"ALL in Adam," to God.
1 Corinthians 15:22 "For as in Adam ALL DIE, even so in Christ shall ALL BE MADE ALIVE.
But when will all of this be accomplished?
1 Corinthians 15:23 But EVERY MAN IN HIS OWN ORDER: Christ the FIRSTFRUITS; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming."
And then what happens with this
"All in Adam?":
1 Corinthians 15:24 "Then cometh the end [last
season],
when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1 Corinthians 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put ALL ENEMIES under his feet.
1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is DEATH."
How does one
"destroy death?" As long as
one person who has ever lived is dead, death has
not been destroyed.
ALL must be made
ALIVE in Christ for death to be destroyed. Is that not exactly what He says He will do?
John 12:32 "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will DRAW ALL MEN unto me."
1 Timothy 2:4 "Who will have ALL MEN to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth."
1 Timothy 4:10 "For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of ALL men, especially [It does not say
'exclusively' but
"especially" - Greek =
MALISTA]
of those that believe."
The salvation of
ALL in Adam is a
"three season" process. A
'process' takes time:
2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that ANY should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance."
And finally, to make the point crystal clear:
1 John 2:2 "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
It is true, now, during this
'Pentecost' season,
"many are called but few are chosen".
At this particular time......
Matthew 7:13 "...Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat."
You are
wiping out an
entire harvest season - the
LARGEST of the harvests -
"the feast of ingathering at the end of the year," This final season is
not for now (i.e. - not for the 70 or so years men of all generations live out their brief lives in the flesh, from Pentecost to now, and continuing on until the next harvest). This season now is
Pentecost - the season where
"Many are called, but few are chosen." The final harvest season, the
feast of ingathering, is yet to come. And at that time the propitiation will already have been made
"Not for our sins only but for the sins of the whole world."
I apologize for perhaps pushing the boundaries of the TOS, but I am doing so because I must use the appropriate Scriptures to expose the error of your interpretation concerning
"the elect" (firstfruits).
The elect are chosen
FIRST, during the
"feast of the firstfruits (Pentecost)." But you err not knowing the Scriptures when you claim that
"the firstfruits" are
THE ONLY "fruits" Christ died for. There is perhaps
"less power" in
YOUR CROSS than in the feeble power of the common
Arminian cross. But as the Scriptures boldly declare, Christ died for
ALL IN ADAM - and that's the
TRUE POWER of the Cross!
