The Called, the Culled and the Excused, Part 2

The Called, the Culled, and the Excused

Part 2, God’s Ultimate Objective

Chapter 5, Part 2 Preview (Back to Part 1) In part one, the fate of the “good” people who died without knowing God on Judgment Day was covered. We saw that there are four categories of people, not just two, and that the Scriptural explanation for Judgment Day has been horribly misrepresented. Some of your “unconverted” friends and relatives will end up much better off than you might have supposed! Part two deals primarily with those who fail God; and how they differ from the righteous. Still, while there is doom, there is not the eternal gloom than is commonly taught!

Jeremiah recorded the culling of the wickedest of the wicked—false shepherds of God’s own flock. The essence of the chapter is summed up in this passage:

Jeremiah 23:13 Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture ....

In unbroken context, these “shepherds” are shown to have “prophesied by Baal”.

So these are the kind prophets who quote God’s Scriptures while in reality they are teaching about Baal; perhaps someone you know?

Verses 29-30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, says [Yehovah], who steal my words everyone from his neighbor. WEB

In verse 36 They went far beyond neglecting “the weightier matters of the law”. They had “perverted the words of the living God.”

How can we know that God did not send these men?

Verse 21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

The next verse demonstrates that they knew better!

Verse 22 But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, [the words they stole and twisted] then THEY would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings.

These men, whom God had never spoken to, had the power and the intellect to stop lying and represent God’s word in truth, rather than twisting every Scripture that was inconvenient! They are not simply sincere but misinformed!

Verse 11 For both the prophet and priest are profane; yes, in My house I have found their wickedness, says the Lord.

What is the fate of these miss-leaders who have perverted Israel these last several millennia?

Verse 14 All of them are like Sodom to Me, and her inhabitants like Gomorrah.

Verse 12 “For I will bring disaster on them.” [When? During the] “YEAR of their punishment, says the Lord”.

This is a reference to the Day of the Lord! These shepherds, who have misled for millennia, will be alive DURING the “Year of their Punishment”!

Verse 39 I, even I, will utterly forget you and forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and will cast you out of My presence. And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten” [hence never forgiven]. “IN THE LATTER DAYS you will understand it perfectly.”

New truth about “the anger of the Lord” is prophesied for the near future. (v.20)

Jeremiah explained the two types of “unconverted” people, yet you may never have seen this chapter referred to. God’s analogy of these two groups is somewhat like a parable.

Jeremiah 24:1-7 [Yehovah] showed me, and behold, two baskets of figs set before the temple of [Yehovah], .... 2 One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first-ripe [firstfruit!]; and the other basket had very bad figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad. 3 Then said [Yehovah] to me, What do you see, Jeremiah? I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, that cant be eaten, they are so bad [Worthless] .... 4 The word of [Yehovah] came to me, saying, 5 Thus says [Yehovah], the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so will I regard the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans, for good. 6 ... I will bring them again to this land .... 7 I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am [Yehovah]: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God; for they shall return to Me with their whole heart. WEB

These “good figs” shall be sanctified! This is history, check the context. This also sets a precedent, sure to be repeated:

Continuing: 8 As the bad figs, which cant be eaten, they are so bad .... 9 I will even give them up to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth for evil; to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them. 10 I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, until they be consumed from off the land that I gave to them and to their fathers.

These shall not be “My people”. Some “unconverted” people are “good” and some are “bad”. This is the chapter that began my reevaluation. Our “good” unconverted “brethren” are going into slavery “for their own good”.

Jeremiah dramatically explained the culling of the “wicked”:

Jeremiah 25:27-33 You shall tell them, Thus says [Yehovah] of Armies, the God of Israel: Drink, and be drunk, vomit, fall [dead], and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. 28 It shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at your hand to drink, then you shall tell them, Thus says [Yehovah] of Armies: You shall surely drink. 29 For, behold, I begin to work evil at the city which is called by my name; and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished; for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth, says [Yehovah] of Armies. 30 Therefore prophesy you against them all these words, and tell them, [Yehovah] will roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he will mightily roar against his fold; he will give a shout, as those who tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. 31 A noise shall come even to the end of the earth; for [Yehovah] has a controversy with the nations; he will enter into judgment with all flesh: as for the wicked, he will give them to the sword, says [Yehovah]. 32 Thus says [Yehovah] of Armies, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great storm shall be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth. 33 The slain of [Yehovah] shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung on the surface of the ground. WEB

Every human will have had an opportunity, even if they didnt recognize it as such. In the Judgment, the wicked will rise only long enough to grieve as they face their just fate.

Paul knew that a remnant of Israel would be excused from their sins:

Romans 9:27 Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved.

Scripture says of Elijah, how he plead with God against Israel saying:

Romans 11:3 Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life? But what does the divine response say to him? I have reserved for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN who have not bowed the knee to Baal. [A small percentage!] Even so at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

This remnant will be in the “first resurrection” but that is not the end of the story.

Romans 10:21-11:6 All day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and contrary people. I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not!

Some believe in a physical resurrection—another opportunity to live life for those who were ignorant of the Law of God. If this were so, then why didnt God say to Elijah, when he was condemning Israel, “Elijah, Elijah, you silly guy, dont you know that it doesnt matter if those men are murderers? I’m going to bring them all back to life later, and their good and bad works will not have mattered”. (Where is that Scripture anyway?) But rather the “divine response” informed him that seven thousand Israelite men were not incorrigible murderers or idolaters! Further:

If this is certainly not the end of those people then what will happen to them?

Romans 11:26-27 ... Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel [aside from the wicked] shall be saved, as it is written: The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins....

God told Elijah about a “remnant” in Ancient Israel, Paul spoke of a “remnant” in his time and Moses spoke of another remnant “in the latter days”.

Deuteronomy 28:64 And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. And there you [the remnant] will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if YOU seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Yes, God will search out, call, or draw those already seeking Him as best they can, particularly “in the latter days” !

Deuteronomy 4:27-31 When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God.... 31 But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

God does not give I.Q. tests. Any intellectual (or other) edge that you have in this life is factored out of of your “final exam” on Judgment Day. A lack of intellect will not hold anyone back; but a lack of diligence will. (The test curve parameter is specified in Luke 12:48.)

Proverbs 2:3 & 5 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding.... 5 Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

Under duress, end time survivors who were not seeking God earlier will meditate on the truths that the Two Witnesses, and other martyrs proclaimed, and repent!

Question: How safe is it to willfully be blinded or allow yourself to be deceived? And how safe is one who “did not receive the love of the truth”? Answer:

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they [the deluded or deceived] all may be ‘condemned’ [damned, KJV] who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

In short: “love of the truth” = “saved”; while “delusion” and believing “the lie” = being “damned” or “condemned” and having to “perish”. Those having “pleasure in unrighteousness” will be culled because they would rather fight and die than change!

Those who long for and seek goodness and truth will find it but only to the degree that they look for it. Those seeking God in this life are “called”.

Those who dont know God but love their neighbors will have an opportunity to be “excused” during the year of Judgment!

Acts 2:20-21 The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. 21 It will be, that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved’.

Sodom and Gomorrah

An intriguing question arises concerning Yeshua’s statement:

Matthew 10:15 ... it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for that city!

Will God tolerate their evil enough to excuse it, or might they simply receive a more merciful death sentence on Judgment Day? While the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah is mentioned frequently, the answer to their fate must be found elsewhere. Abraham strove with God to pardon Sodom and Gomorrah in his day, but to no avail. Yet in the Great Judgment Day a degree of tolerance for those who were destroyed in Sodom and Gomorrah is definitely indicated. Today, the word “tolerance” has become a mantra in our society. Some say that tolerance is the last virtue to fall in a degenerating society. Yet tolerance of evil is far from a virtue. The wicked typically only call for tolerance toward viewpoints in opposition to God.

There are only six places in the Scriptures where a form of the word “tolerance” is used, and they all refer to Yeshua’s comments about the cities mentioned in the following passage:

Matthew 11:20-24 Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: 21 Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the Day of Judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the Day of Judgment than for you.

Amazingly, even Israel never responded to miracles. Sodom and Gomorrah, under different circumstances, would not have been singled out for annihilation at that time, rather those cities would have survived “until this day”.

We need to examine all pertinent references. I cant help but wonder if Sodom and Gomorrah had become sodomite resort towns that had no normal men, nor any women or children, with the exception of Lot and his family. Notice:

Genesis 19:4 ... the men of the city, the men of Sodom both old and young, all the people from every quarter surrounded the house....

They intended to rape the holy Messengers who were thought to be men. The example of righteous Lot’s family, living among this much decadence serves as a warning for righteous people, of all time, not to be as frogs neglecting to flee from a pot that is set to slowly come to a boil.

We know that:

Genesis 3:13 ... the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.

These people were so wicked that God Himself could hardly believe it. Sodomy certainly was not the only sin of these people. In fact it doesnt even specifically mention sex sins on the list of the seven things that God hates the most. The perversion of these people certainly was noteworthy but their aberrant response when the angele blinded them demonstrates that even God could not distract them from their mindset.

Genesis 18:20 And the Lord said: Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, [God rates sin by degrees!] I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me....

Yeshua apparently did hold out a ray of hope for some of the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah. Their total lack of spiritual knowledge will serve them better than the Pharisees, who had considerable knowledge. Far more was expected of the Pharisees. More of the people of Sodom will be salvagable than the Pharisees who knowingly killed a Man sent from God:

John 3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 The same came to Him by night, and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.”

Now an interesting and informative dialog took place between Abraham and God. Abraham said:

Genesis 18:23-26 Would You destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the world do right? So the Lord said: If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all place for their sakes.

Abraham spoke on and on about this matter.

Question: Why didnt God stop Abraham and tell him that there could not possibly be any righteous people in Sodom. God could have said: “If there are any relatively righteous people there, as in other cities, wouldnt I know about it” Yet God assured Abraham that He would check and see if as few as ten “would be found there”. The answer to this question, that no one even asks, is that there are relatively “righteous” unconverted people who do not know God yet, and there are “wicked” unconverted people who wouldnt even want to know God!

Genesis 19:24 Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah.... Shall not the Judge of all the world do right?

Peter defined who the wicked were, beginning with the fallen angels and continuing down to his own day and age. Peter also clearly described their ultimate fate. Here is the beginning and the end of it:

2 Peter 2:4-17 For if God didnt spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and didnt spare the ancient world, ... 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction ... 9 the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment.... 12 But these, as unreasoning creatures, born natural animals to be taken and destroyed, speaking evil in matters about which they are ignorant [ignorance is not an excuse!] will in their destroying surely be destroyed, 13 receiving the wages of unrighteousness.... 14 having eyes full of adultery, and who cant cease from sin.... 17 These are wells without water, clouds driven by a storm; for whom the ness of darkness has been reserved forever. WEB

Jude, the brother of Yeshua, also knew about the fate of at least most of the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah, and spoke clearly about it in the exact same context as Peter did.

Jude 6,7,11 And the angels who did not keep their former domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the Judgment of the Great Day; AS SODOM and GOMORRAH, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of ETERNAL FIRE.... 11 Woe to them ... Cain...Balaam... [and those who] perished in the rebellion of Korah. He rains coals; fire and brimstone and a burning wind shall be the portion of their cup.

Psalms 37:10—38 For soon the wicked will no longer exist. Yes, you will *diligently consider* where he might be [4725], but he wont be there! ... 13 Yehovah will laugh at him, for He sees that his day is coming.... 17 ... but Yehovah upholds those with integrity*. 18 Yehovah knows the lifespan* of those with integrity*. Their inheritance will be eternal.... 20 But the wicked will vanish* [06]. Yehovah’s enemies will be like the beauty of the fields. They will vanish—vanish like smoke.... 27 Abandon evil, do good, and live securely forever! ... 37 Mark the *morally innocent* man, and see the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. 38 As for the rebels, they will be altogether* [03162] exterminated* [08045]. The future of the wicked will be cut down. GBT

Proverbs 14:32 The wicked is banished in his wickedness, but the righteous has a refuge in his death.

Remember that these quotes concern righteous and wicked people who lived and died before Yeshua’s sacrifice, the arrival of the Holy Spirit, the “gospel” and baptism!

In King David’s final address to all of the leaders of Israel, just before he died, he mentioned that:

Chronicles 28:4 ... the Lord God of Israel chose me above all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever ....

That was his destiny—he was called and chosen. Forever often means for eternity, not just until the end of an age. Be sure to notice that while God indeed “searches ALL hearts”, He is searching for those who will “seek Him”. He continued:

2 Chronicles 28:8-9 Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, be careful to seek out all the commandments of the Lord your God, [why?] that you may possess this good land, [then, as well as in the kingdom] and leave it as an inheritance for your children after you forever. As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches ALL HEARTS and understands ALL THE INTENT of the thoughts. If you seek Him He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.

Their “thoughts” determining either a future life or death “forever”!

Today, those who truly serve God have an opportunity to become Eternal Kings and Priests in the Kingdom, helping to rule over the future generations of mankind! What an honor God has expected us to attain! To qualify, God must reveal to some of us, in great detail, His master plan so that He can pre screen us to fill the most important positions. Most of humanity is not being prepared for eternal leadership roles. Ancient Israel was offered a plot of “good land” for doing their human best in serving God. God did not expend much effort explaining the eternal consequences of their “works”. He primarily emphasized to them the immediate benefits of serving Him as best they could-which was sufficient to judge their character and fitness for eternal life. In a word, our “character” is the absolute bottom line concerning eternal life and its accompanying rewards. When the kingdom comes, we will either take part in “the Resurrection of Life”, as Spirit composed Leaders, or we’ll be “excused” followers and survivors, reserved for Life. The other alternative is to face the “Resurrection of Condemnation” being “cast off forever”—reserved for Death, because God “searches ALL HEARTS”.

Are the Commandments Fair?

Some will ask: “Is it fair of God to expect some of us to keep the Ten Commandments while others only need keep the last six to obtain eternal life?” I briefly mentioned Scriptures that indicate that it is our own quest for God that initiates God’s calling of His children.

Acts 17:26-27 He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. WEB

Just like volunteers in the military, they have no idea what the consequences of their volunteering will lead to but they commit themselves nonetheless. Yes, some may desert their calling and go back to an easier life. Nevertheless, hungering and thirsting for God’s truths with sufficient humility and having a visible inclination to desire goodness is the reason why God calls some of us to have a deep understanding of His mind. God tests some of us using all Ten Commandments, because we (or our parents) sought a higher awareness. Of course, being from a Commandment keeping family is a distinct head start.

Logically, given God’s fairness, of those Commandment keepers who are offered the opportunity to become Kings and Priests, some will only be zealous enough to obtain eternal life—while not zealous enough to be among the limited number offered leadership roles. The man entrusted with one “talent” (a unit of money) should have at least drawn interest on it, as he sat and waited for His Master’s return. That would be considered minimally acceptable.

This requires only a little bit of deduction. We know that a third of the angels forsook God and became wicked spirits. In their perfect spiritual environment, it may have taken thousands, or even millions of years for wickedness to even have occurred to them, because there was no tempter. Once Satan did tempt the angels, God lost one third of His “family”.

Why Does God Test Us?

The Commandments are really a measuring stick. The purpose that they serve is solely to determine our inclination toward love and trust. Adam and Eve, in the garden, had only one Commandment! Could they have stolen from another family? Could they have born false witness against someone—to damage their character? Could they have coveted their neighbor’s spouse, or their neighbor’s anything else? With only one commandment, concerning a tree, God was able to test their character!

By being born into a physical world, and having immediate and constant exposure to evil, God can quickly determine which of us are “by nature” inclined to resist evil. God has allowed Satan to live just long enough to test humanity for a few thousand years. Of course we are all singed by evil, but with God’s help many will escape the flames! There will, of course, be some who never “enter life” to become “like the angels”. They will “crash and burn” as did the fallen angels. Like Judas, it would have been better, had they never been born.

Ultimately, there are only two groups of people: those who are “righteous” and those who are “wicked”, those who “inherit the earth”, and those who “shall be cut off”. Being righteous simply means that you are not wicked!

Psalms 37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.

Psalms 37:10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more.

Psalms 37:11 But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Psalms 37:22 For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

Psalms 37:29 The righteous shall inherit the ‘land’ [earth], and dwell in it forever.

Psalms 125:3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity.

Isaiah 60:21 Also your people shall ALL be righteous; they shall inherit the ‘land’ [earth] forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified.

Righteousness is a relative thing; sometimes the “righteous” are simply less “abominable!”

Jeremiah 3:11 Then the LORD said to me, ‘Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah’.

Ezekiel 16:52 You who judged your sisters, bear your own shame also, because the sins which you committed were more abominable than theirs; they are more righteous than you. Yes, be disgraced also, and bear your own shame, because you justified your sisters.

Habakkuk 1:13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, and hold Your tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he?

Of course it is far more of a blessing when you strive to be righteous. The “scribes and Pharisees” had too little “righteousness” to “enter the kingdom of heaven”.

Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Matthew 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom ‘of’ [from] heaven.

Matthew 5:20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Called, culled, or excused: It’s up to us— “anyone” and “everyone”—whether we know it or not! So:

Matthew 7:7-8 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For EVERYONE who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If ANYONE hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

Once more; the Six Commandments:

Matthew 7:12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

I hope that you choose the road less traveled, scoring a perfect “10” (Commandments)!

Matthew 7:13 Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

If this chapter intrigued you and you would like to see an avalanche of Scriptures pertaining to the fate of the wicked; then proceed to PART 1 of The Fate of the Wicked.

Unmarked Scriptures are from the “New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.” “Bible text from the New King James Version® is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.”