“Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not, whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

“And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north; and from the south, and shall sit down in the Kingdom of God. And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.” -Luke 13:23-30; Matthew 7:13, 14.

The blessing of the heathen is not merely for those now living, but for all who have ever lived. Messiah’s kingdom will triumph gloriously in the Lord’s due time. The knowledge of the glory of God will fill the whole earth-Isaiah 11:9, until none shall need to say to his neighbor or to his brother, Know thou the Lord; for all shall know him.-Jeremiah 31:33, 34. It is in order that all may come to a knowledge of the truth that God has promised that “there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust;” that “all that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of Man and shall come forth.” A faithful few will come forth to glory, honor, immortality, and a share in the kingdom; and the unreconciled many will come forth later, that the love of God may be testified to them, and that they may have the opportunity of the rewards and chastisements of the kingdom, to help them back to all that was lost in Adam and redeemed at Calvary.

Some inquired of the Lord, Will there be but few saved? Jesus did not give a direct answer to the question, doubtless for two reasons: (1) The Holy Spirit had not yet come, and his followers could not then be prepared to understand the plan of God thoroughly. (2) It was not due time to explain all the particulars of the spiritual salvation of the church, to be like unto her Lord, and then later the human restitution of the world to the image and likeness of the first Adam. Jesus applied the matter to his hearers personally, saying: “Strive ye to enter in (to the kingdom) by the narrow door; for many, I say unto you will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the Master of the house is risen up and shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, open unto us, he shall answer and say to you, I know ye not whence ye are.”

For a certain period of time the door to the high calling of the church stands ajar. Jesus opened up this new way of life through the veil; that is to say, his flesh-his sacrifice.-Hebrews 10:19, 20. The possibilities of entering into this way were first presented to the Jews; and after finding the suitable ones of that people, God has directed the message hither and thither amongst the Gentiles for these more than eighteen centuries. Apparently the gathering of the elect has been nearly completed. As soon as the last one completing the elect number shall have qualified for glory and shall have passed through the door, it will shut.

About that time, a great awakening of religious thought will come to the world, in the midst of a great time of trouble. Then many will begin to see that they have been neglecting the great prize, that they have failed to purchase the pearl of great price on the cheap terms on which it was offered to them-their little all. Then there will be great lamentation amongst this class, and a crying, Lord, Lord, are we not to be of the bride class? But the Lord will disown them as respects the bride company. Then they will be in great sorrow. Weeping and gnashing of teeth will prevail. This will not be in some far-off place of eternal torment, as once we supposed; but, as the narrative intimates, it will be right here on the earth, amongst a class who neglect ed the privilege of the high calling when they knew of it.

Bringing the matter down to his hearers, but still leaving it applicable to all who have heard the message throughout the Gospel age, the Lord intimates that some of these will have been in close touch with him and his followers. They had a form of godliness and claimed to have done many mighty works, yet the Lord will disown them as respects any privileges in the kingdom. They will not even have a share in the earthly kingdom. It will be given to the worthies of the past who lived and died before the high calling was opened up.

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets and faithful ones of the past are to be princes in all the earth, the visible representatives of the invisible Messiah and his church in glory. The heir s of the kingdom will not be entirely Jewish, because the Jews as a nation were not sufficiently holy and because the Lord could accept only the holy. When the call to joint­ heir ship in the kingdom would go out to the Gentiles, some would come from the East, the West, the North, and the South, and have a share in the kingdom. The Jews were first in God’s favor and the Gentiles last; yet some of the first with privilege and opportunity would fail. R5407 (1914)