ID and Password
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matt 7)
This is a Kingdom of Heaven teaching. That means it applies specifically to entering in to the temporary, political, earthly last days' Millennial Kingdom. It involves doing in order to enter. This is not a Kingdom of God teaching which involves believing. Nonetheless, we can learn something important from it. Remember that not all things in the Bible were written to you but all things were written for you.
An example of the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament:
Saul was chosen to be the first king of Israel. He therefore was equipped or anointed for this task. The prophet Samuel said to Saul that the Spirit of God would come upon him (1Sam 10:6). This enabling would be so strong that it would affect him into his inner man temporarily but it would not be from within like the Holy Spirit is today during the Church Age. The Spirit of God came upon him as promised and he prophesied under the power of God (v 10). In the Old Testament the activity of the Holy Spirit was different from how He works today. He would come and go remaining upon people for longer or shorter periods of time depending on their office (such as prophet, king, or priest) or their assignment. The Holy Spirit's work is not like that today. Jesus said he came to abide with you forever (John 14:16) but in 1 Samuel 16:14 the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul. An evil spirit came to Saul instead and terrorized him. We, the Church, are living in an unusual time. The Holy Spirit does not work today in the same way He did in the past.
Saul, now demonized, sent messengers to seize David but the Spirit of God came upon them and they prophesied. Saul sent bands of other messengers two more times and in every case the coming upon them by the Spirit of God caused them to prophesy. Finally a demented and demonized King Saul, from whom the Spirit of God had departed, has the Spirit come upon him once again and he prophesied.
And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets? (1Sam 19:24)
Likely, ungodly soldiers and a demented king Saul prophesied when the Spirit of God came upon them. This was the activity of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. It is not like that today but it will be again in the future.
In Jesus' Kingdom of Heaven teaching in Matthew 7 He says that many will claim to have prophesied, cast out devils, and to have done many wonderful works in Jesus' name. This was not during the Old Testament days because these things are done in Jesus' name. This cannot be during the Church Age either because these people (in Jesus' teaching) are cast away from Jesus. These “many” that Jesus referred to are from His 1-3 year public ministry and/or during the 7 years “tribulation” before entry is allowed of natural humans into the Millennial Kingdom. Joel 2 talks of this revival. Peter said, in effect, that the famous Day of Pentecost was a partial fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. Several things that Joel mentioned did not happen in Peter's day. Also, Joel never mentions the tongues that did happen in Peter's day. Tongues were unique to the Church.
One thing that these “many” never claimed was that they spoke in tongues. They claimed several other supernatural things but not this one. Why? Because it is unique to the Church Age. These are not people from the Church Age. Praying in the Spirit/spirit is supposed to be unique and universal among Christians during the Church Age today. The fact that this is not universal among unbelieving believers today is a screaming tragedy. It destroys the picture that the Bible would portray.
While this teaching of Jesus in Matthew 7 was not given directly to us in the Church Age, He said it and preserved it for our benefit and instruction. There are important lessons we can learn from this teaching. What is remarkable is that unsaved, condemned persons know that the name of Jesus has power. Christians today do not even believe that.
If you have used a computer to connect to the internet you probably are familiar with a sign-in page.
Sign-in page
You need to enter your identification and a password. A password is extremely powerful. If someone has or steals your password he can access your bank accounts or other sensitive information. You must keep your password secret and guard it from other people.
Sign-in page with the password entered
In Jesus' teaching some people have realized that there was a password to immense power. That password is the name of Jesus. They prophesied in His name. They cast out devils in His name. They did many wonderful works in His name. They discovered the secret to power and used it to access things that a person could not do by themselves. Amazing that these people had been able to see great things happen while many Christians today have no confidence in the power that Jesus' name holds.
Though these many people had done great things by the power and authority that Jesus' name carries, they were refused entrance to the Kingdom. It was not because they had done great things. It was for another reason. Many people think that casting out devils will be the cause of rebuke from the Lord. It was because of something else.
In general computing, the password is probably considered the most important sign-on feature. However, Jesus considers identity as the most important thing. Even though these people that Jesus condemned knew the password to great power, He refused them because they did not have the proper identity. They did not know Him intimately.
Sign-in page with the ID entered
(Note: This is not an actual email address)
Although this is a Kingdom of Heaven teaching, applying specifically to the time before the Millennium, we can see an importance for us today. Doing religious things, even good things, are no substitute for having a real personal relationship with the Lord.
Today, during the Age of Grace, the requirement is to believe or trust in the name of Jesus. Knowing the password to power is important. Knowing our identity as being connected to Jesus is supremely important. Jesus is the One who does the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Feb 23, 2024