Those who choose Christ and to those whom God has chosen....is a bit confusing?

Question

Hi. I read for like a hundred times in Revelations that only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life which was written before there was ever a foundation of the world...are the ones who will be saved or are predestined ones, called most likely in Bible terms as the ELECTS.

Over and over...only the true sheep or whom He has called is His own and He Shepherds them and gives them His Spirit to dwell in their hearts.

I was thinking there must be a lot of the called ones or the Elect ones and then the one who will endure to the end will truly be saved.

So my argument is that....it still falls to the category where their names were still written in the Book and that He can blot the other names out....

Now what confuses me is the phrase..."Many are called but a few chosen" to eternal life,SO then the phrase applies exclusively to ELECTS? Who will ever know the wisdom of God, but what I am saying is..Salvation is open to all mankind, but everything is foreordained?

Answer 1

AMEN, and one of the best teachers I have ever seen on this subject is Charles Haddon Spurgeon, you can pull him up on the internet, he preached in the 1800's. He is called the Prince of Preachers. He's great

Answer 2

If God is choosing who is saved, doesn’t that undermine our free will to chose and believe in Christ? The Bible says that we have the free will choice – all we have to do is believe in Jesus Christ and we will be saved (John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10). The Bible never describes God rejecting anyone who believes in Him or turning away anyone who was seeking Him (Deuteronomy 4:29). Somehow, in the mystery of God, predestination works hand in hand with a person being drawn by God (John 6:44) and believing unto salvation (Romans 1:16). God predestines who will be saved, and we must choose Christ in order to be saved. Both facts are equally true. Romans 11:33 proclaims, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!”

Answer 3

What is missing in Roman Christianity is the notion of reincarnation. However, earlier christian sects taught that reincarnation occurs after death. One keeps reincarnating untill one has become knowledgable, and totally devoted to serve God. Then one is ready to ascend to heaven. One is not chosen, but in one lifetime, one maybe ready to ascend to heaven. One should understand that there were many Christian myths going around after 33AD (christs crucifixion). Only those sanctioned by the early orthodox church made it to modern audience, and hence some statements are confusing because they appear to be abstract. Infact that is because some stories were destroyed during the early church period, and with those texts, also the understanding of allegorical verses. One should read texts from the recently discoved Nag Hammandi library (1959) or the dead sea scrolls.
The elect, as you call it are very rare indeed. The Gospel according to Judas states that the number is estimated to be 1 in 10,000 who will become liberated, and 1 in 100,000 who will be saved. The material world is destroyed once every biblical millenium (trillions of years), and then re-created so that fallen souls start their activities again untill they find salvation.
Now to your foreordained bit. Everyone has free will to do what he/she wishes. If you suddenly decide to kill someone, you will have to serve punishment for that crime before you can be saved. Yet, god knows everybodies soul, so he can accurately predict every event in our lives by probability alone. This is why God will incarnate your soul every life time, into a body whom will give you the experiences that you will require to reach the next step in attaining salvation. It is up to you whether you take advantage of your present life, or whether you elect to become more selfish. Whatever you chose, God has already predicted your response, as he knows each and every person inside out.

Answer 4

Salvation is for all mankind. When Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world--that included everyone.
Not everyone will choose to be saved. In my opionion of scripture God may know who will choose Him, but I do not believe that it is foreordained.

Answer 5

You have been stumped on a question that stumps many...God has given us a free will to pick and choose for ourselves. If not we would only be puppets and our love and devotion wouldn't be real and genuine. Yes He predestined that we would ALL be saved and be His Elect. However, through OUR free will, we have the choice to accept or reject. Therefore even though our God has chosen us, it remains to be seen who has TRULY chosen Him.

Answer 6

Many will always hear you, only a couple may really understand you. That's all that this means. Not so much "foreordained", but rather "expected."

Which, is to say, it is expected that a few will separate themselves from the herd. This concept can be called "foreordained," in that sense.

Answer 7

It is my understanding that the 'elects' are the Jewish believers, but I cannot tell you other than have heard it taught.
Another thing I heard taught regarding the one scripture where "many are called, but few chosen", that the difference in the called and chosen is answered in Revelation 17: 14 where it adds the word "faithful". All are called, but God only can use and receive ultimately those who are faithful to their original choice. That's only one teaching and it is all a play on words.
For me, having walked with Jesus for many years now, I think I understand that "time" for us isn't the same as with him. It's like He stands in the center of our life wheel (?) and he can look at us from conception, or before, until the end of our time on earth, and after and see it all like looking at the spokes in a wheel from the center.., AND He can see it all, but I don't believe He alters our choices..., for Him to KNOW doesn't alter what we choose. God is omnipotent and omniscient and since He is so powerful as to KNOW all things, I believe He chooses to follow each of us who are now "in" time according to our timeline and He is so powerful that He can and does choose to NOT know until we make our choice..., make sense? Otherwise, freewill choice is a joke.., and I don't think it is a joke. Free will is my gift and eternal 'right' and privilege and makes me 'more like Him' and He will NOT violate it. Now, from the perspective of when I CHOOSE Jesus to BE Lord over my life, still with my freewill in tact, I have been given the privilege to 'sit in heavenly places with Him' and I have a spiritual advantage of having supernatural glimpses, as He does into a higher understanding of life and happenings in the 'eternal perspective' rather than only an earth time perspective; sort of the BIG picture. Time and eternity are concepts but also realities. Before we can understand eternity, I think we would have to understand that God isn't limited to our time and life, but does personally participate in it with us FOR OUR SAKE, so we can grow into an 'ETERNAL BEING'. How's that from a country girl?

Answer 8

I guess it's like Einstein saying God doesn't play dice with the universe. He has the option of knowing all that will happem so I guess He does, doesn't mean people don't have free will, unlike what Einstein might say.

Answer 9

that's a tricky, tricky question, but a great one, one that I wrestle with often. It seems to me that yes to both, if you are to be "chosen" then you will choose, but then there's the Calvinists who believe in election, so is it free will or predetermined salvation.?? I can't imagine that God created only some to receive salvation and not all to whom he would give the opportunity to receive....... I believe he knows who will receive and therefore it is already written....Great Question!

Answer 10

Many are called out-He calls to every one (that is many)

Few are chosin-if you don't answer His call and live following Jesus (whether because you don't believe or you continue to sin) then you won't be chosen for eternal life.