In January 2022, I posted an excerpt from my manuscript, Waiting for The Day and Hour, in the article called, Did We Not.[1] Since then, I have edited that excerpt. And what you see below is the newly edited version of my commentary on Matthew 7:21-23. This commentary is one of many from chapter sixteen, Rapture Passages in Matthew.
Matthew 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to me,
‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the
will of my Father who is in heaven… Many
will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and
in your name drive out demons and, in your name, perform many miracles?’… Then
I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers’”
(NIV)!
(Parallel passage: Luke 13:22-30)
Some may be puzzled by this passage. Some think anyone who calls Jesus Lord should enter the kingdom of heaven. They may think 1 Corinthians 12:3 proves their theory: “No one can say, “Jesus is [my] Lord,” except by [the power and influence of] the Holy Spirit” (AMP). However, the verse in the letter to the Corinthians is a declaration spoken by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—an affirmation of something true. And Matthew 7:21a is a way of addressing someone important who has great authority. In this case, the person is Jesus. He is Lord of lords and King of kings. He is God. He should be addressed by the title, Lord. Addressing Jesus as Lord is an act of acknowledging that he is Lord. However, declaring “Jesus is [my] Lord” affirms one’s dedication or loyalty to him. Therefore, not everyone who addresses Jesus as Lord will enter Eternity.
Matthew, when compiling his
gospel, recorded what is written in 7:13-20 right before Jesus’ warning about
doing his Father’s will (7:21-23), to indicate how a person may enter heaven
(7:21-23). Whether or not Jesus taught chronologically what Matthew recorded in
these verses, we do not know. Because we do not see the same chronological record
in the other gospels. Luke has what is written in Matthew 7:13-23, but he has
them recorded in another order, differently. In Luke’s record, it looks like
Jesus said these things at different times (6:43-46; 13:22-30). Remember what I
wrote in chapter four, The Live Encounter with a Fig Tree, under the
heading, Two People, Two Different Personalities, Matthew’s gospel is
recorded differently than Mark and Luke’s gospels. Mark and Luke usually
recorded what Jesus said chronologically. They recorded what Jesus taught with
some resemblance to a timeline. Matthew recorded Jesus’ teachings systematically.
He compiled Jesus’ various teachings and arranged them like an accountant
arranges the names of each account. Matthew wrote that Jesus taught to enter
heaven through the narrow gate (7:13-14). Then he writes that Jesus warned of
false prophets, who can be recognized by their καρπός (karpós) fruit (7:15-20).
I believe Matthew recorded these teachings of Jesus in an orderly way to give
his readers a better grasp of what Jesus meant in 7:21-23.
Jesus said only those who do God
the Father’s will are permitted into τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν (tín vasileían
tón ouranón) “the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 7:21a, mGNT). His Father's will is
achieved by putting faith in the Son of God, and then doing what he commands.
Whoever the Son of God has been revealed to, and then believes in him (truly
follows him), will have eternal life (Jn. 6:40). The Fathers perfect will is
that those who believe in Jesus should not follow the world or their agenda,
but change the way they think so they can know what the will of God is (Rms.
12:2). The one who is permitted into heaven is the one who offers their body as
a living sacrifice to God (Rms. 12:1). The one who calls Jesus, Lord, must
understand what the will of God is, and then do it (Eph. 5:17-21). It is the Father's
will that his children be sanctified: avoid sexual immorality, control one’s
body (be holy and pure), and not lust like the pagans do (1 Thess. 4:3-7).
Those who call Jesus Lord must not spend their time chasing what their flesh
desires but live to do the will of God (1 Pet. 4:2). Those who do the will of
God will be permitted into tín vasileían tón ouranón (the kingdom of heaven).
Some may not see it, but this
passage (7:21-23) is allusive to the rapture of the Church. Jesus prophesied
the day of the rapture of the Church in this statement with an indisputable
warning. He said: πολλοὶ ἐροῦσίν μοι ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ (polloí eroúsín moi en
ekeíni tí imér) “Many will ask me on that day” (7:22a, mGNT). “On that day” is
allusive to the day he comes for his church (Mal. 3:17-18; Matt. 24:36; 1
Thess. 5:4; 2 Thess. 1:10; 2 Tim. 4:8). This statement is a prophetic picture
of what some people will say or ask Jesus on that day. I just wrote ‘what some
people will say or ask Jesus,’ but Jesus said, what many will ask him. The unarguable
warning is that only those who do the will of Jesus’ Father will enter the
eternal realm on the day the rapture happens.
Some readers may think: Would
these people denied entrance into heaven not be raptured for Jesus to speak to
them since he is in the eternal realm? So, how can this be an allusion to the
day of the rapture? Well, the primary passage in the Scriptures that describes
the rapture of the body of Christ (1 Thess. 4:13-17) says that Jesus will meet
them “in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17b). I have written before that εἰς ἀέρα (eis
aéra) “in the air” means the place of transition. It is where the physical
realm meets the heavenly realm—the door or gateway of heaven. Therefore, those
denied access into the eternal realm are stopped at the place of transition, eis
aéra (in the air)—at the door or gateway of heaven. At this place, they will be
saying (likely anxiously shouting): “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your
name and in your name drive out demons and, in your name, perform many
miracles?” Being troubled, they will remind the Lord of their works. No doubt
they will be filled with fear knowing they are denied access to the kingdom in
heaven. They will be denied access to the eternal realm because Jesus has
determined that they did not do the will of his Father. Every Christian should
take note: Just because a believer uses the gifts of the Spirit does not
guarantee that they will not be turned away at the gateway of heaven. Those who
call Jesus Lord must do the will of Christ’s Father.
Jesus predicts that he will say
to those he will not let into the eternal realm, that he has never known them
(7:23a). This means he has never known them to be his servants. They do not
serve Jesus because they do not do God the Father's will. They may not do his
will because they are Scripturally illiterate. Or, it is just not important to
them. They follow the world and their agenda instead of doing God’s will. They
do what they want, fulfill their desires. They do not work at renewing their
mind to know the will of God. They do not offer their body as a living
sacrifice to God. They do not work at being holy, but live to please the sinful
nature. If these people do God’s will, Jesus will allow them to access God’s heavenly
kingdom. Jesus said the disobedient are: οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι τὴν ἀνομίαν (oi
ergazómenoi tín anomían) “those who work lawlessness” (7:23b, Textus
Receptus).
Some think this passage refers to
the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10), and that these people are being
judged and rejected. But that is not the purpose of the judgment seat of
Christ. Anyone who stands before this seat is rewarded, with little or much
(Rms. 14:10). The judgment seat of Christ takes place in heaven. These people
are not allowed in heaven “on that day.” The day of the rapture. That is what
this passage alludes to. It is not that they are not doing God’s will only on
the day of the rapture. Only at the hour preceding the rapture. No! They are
not practicing the will of God leading up to the day of the rapture. They have
not been doing the will of God for a long time. If they paid attention to the signs
concerning the day they are living in, the endtimes, the rapture is near, they may
have repented before it is too late. If they were not beguiled by false
doctrine, they may be able to do the will of God.
It is not the great white throne
judgment either (Rev. 20:11-15). This judgment happens after the Tribulation
Period. The people who stand before this judgment do not have their names
written in the Book of Life. There is no indication in Matthew 7:21-23
that these people are not written in the Book of Life. If their names are
not written in the Book of Life, Jesus would have said it. He would have
said: Your names are not written in the Book of Life, so get away from
me, you wicked ones (I surmise). Rather, they cannot enter Eternity because
they are not doing God’s will. Jesus was specific. I believe Matthew’s passage is
about people in the church who do not do God’s will. But, live to fulfil their
desires. Therefore, when Jesus comes for his church to take them to his
Father’s house, those who live like this are turned away. Instead, they are
cast into the Tribulation where the hypocrites, unbelievers, and unfaithful are
placed to have one last opportunity to repent (Matt. 24:51; Lk. 12:46). The
people that are not permitted into heaven on the day of the rapture are
possibly the people who repent during the Tribulation, and are killed for their
rejection of the Antichrist and his government (Rev. 6:9-11; 7:9-17). They will
then be resurrected at the first resurrection (Rev. 20:4-6).
This passage is similar to the μωρός
(morós) foolish virgins in the parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1-13). Morós
can also be translated as moron and witless. According to this parable, the morós
virgins will be shut out of the wedding feast (Matt. 25:10-12). The Mathew
25:1-13 parable discloses and implies that the foolish virgins – like the ones
that did not do the will of the Father of Jesus in 7:21-23 – will not enter
into the kingdom of heaven when the Son of God comes for his bride because they
will not be prepared to meet his Father (See chapter #13, The Betrothal
Period). Matthew 7:21-23 is also similar to the pastors and teachers who
refuse to do as the Lord commands them to do in the endtimes (Matt. 24:45-51).
They refuse to preach and teach endtimes doctrine, especially the rapture of
the body of Christ as they have been commanded (See chapter #14, Pastors and
Teachers). This group is not preparing God’s church for the day Jesus
mentions in Matthew 7:22. Instead, they are busy advancing their agenda. They
make their position in the church a career, instead of something God has called
them to. They also live for the pleasures of this world (Matt. 24:49). Jesus
calls these servants evil (Matt. 24:48a), just like the ones in Matthew
7:21-23.
How anyone who is casting out
demons and doing miracles is not doing God’s will is being left to our
imagination. The Scripture does not elaborate. However, the purpose behind this
record is to get those not doing God’s will to repent and do his will before
the rapture happens. Some say that these evildoers are not saved. But the Scriptures
say they call Jesus Lord. Why would they address him with that title, and be
driving out demons and doing miracles, if they were not sons of the Light?
Jesus did not say they could not enter the kingdom of heaven because they were
not. They could not enter heaven “on that day” because they were not doing the
will of God the Father. Where do these people get the power to cast out demons
and do miracles in the Name of Jesus if they do not have the authority to use
his name? Do they get this power from the evil ones? If that is so, how can
evil spirits cast out evil spirits? Remember what Jesus said: “If Satan drives
out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand”
(Matt. 12:26, CSB)? In the days of the apostle Paul, the sons of a Jewish high
priest were trying to cast an evil spirit out of a man by invoking the name of
Jesus, and they were beaten and bloodied by that man (Acts 19:13-16). This
beating happened because the evil spirit in the man knew the seven sons did not
belong to Jesus. It is stated in 7:22 that those not allowed to enter the
eternal realm “on that day” are casting out evil spirits and doing miracles.
Therefore, they must have the authority to use the name of Jesus.
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