According to Matthew 7:13, most people are headed for destruction. That's not me saying this. Matthew 7:13 is saying this. But what does that mean exactly? What are the details surrounding this destruction? And how can we avoid the destruction via the narrow gate?
The Narrow Way
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.
Matthew 7:14 Because
narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Enter what by the narrow gate? You are trying to enter the kingdom of heaven on Earth. When Jesus finally arrives he is going to establish the kingdom of heaven on Earth. Shortly before he arrives there will be great destruction via the
harvests (
nuclear wars) and the
fake Jesus (
false prophet.)
What are the minimum requirements to have a shot at entering the kingdom of heaven?
1. You have to be alive with no mark at the arrival of Jesus;
2. Or die for refusing the mark.
Notice that in any case you have to be alive when the fake Jesus arrives.
That means your focus should be on avoiding death. If you are taken out by a harvest or fooled by the fake Jesus, then you are not getting in. This is the fate of most people.
The
wide gate is the do nothing gate. You just sit around and wait to get taken out by a harvest. There is no attempt to get out of the way. This is the fate of the majority of people.
The
narrow gate is the do something gate. This path is very difficult because it requires you to leave your home in order to avoid the harvests. If there are rumors that your land is a target for nuclear attack then you have to leave and get far away.
The narrow gate is the adventure trip that could take you around the world. Will even 1 in 1000 attempt this trip?
Maybe now you understand why those two verses in Matthew 7 are so vague. Nobody is going to believe the details. According to the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, even if someone rose from the dead, they could not convince you.
Below I provide more detail.
Let's see about those nasty harvests.
The Parable of the Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30)
Matthew 13:30 Let both grow together until the
harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
The wheat is expected to get out of the way, or it will get caught up with the weeds.
Matthew 13:28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’
Matthew 13:29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.
Notice in Matthew 13:28-29 that the weeds (tares) cannot be gathered up without risk to the wheat. That risk remains today as fields are burned. But now the wheat is expected to get out of the way.
Matthew 7:13 says most people are going to be wiped out. How is that going to happen?
Matthew 25 (parable of the talents) explains what happens to Christians who are too lazy to get out of the way of the harvests. Mr. 1-Talent Christian gets tossed into hell for being lazy. He went through the do nothing gate (the wide gate) and got caught up in a harvest.
I don't understand Matthew 25 so that absolves me, you say. Sorry, it doesn't work like that. Hell for Mr. 1-Talent is merely the effects of nuclear radiation. It produces so much pain that there will be screaming/weeping and gnashing of the teeth. This will last from 3 days to 3 weeks.
After Jesus finally arrives, the few remaining (charred and beaten up) wheat kernels are gathered up. Not many survived the harvests and the fake Jesus who made everyone take the mark of the beast.
Take a look at the harvest in Isaiah 17:
Isaiah 17:1 “See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins.
Isaiah 17:5 It will be as when reapers
harvest the standing grain, gathering the grain in their arms ...
Isaiah 17:11 In the day you will make your plant to grow, And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish;
But the harvest will be a heap of ruins; In the day of grief and desperate sorrow.
In Isaiah 17 it's likely that Israel nukes Damascus, Syria. This is a harvest. If Christians are in Damascus, Syria then they are getting nuked along with everyone else. They are expected to get out of the way.
The retaliation for Isaiah 17 comes in Isaiah 18. If Isaiah 17 is a harvest, then so is Isaiah 18. Here, a powerful friend of Israel will be getting wiped out. Isaiah 18:3 tells the entire world to stop and pay attention to the events of Isaiah 17, because retaliation is coming.
Isaiah 18:4 This is what the Lord says to me: “I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place,
like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of
harvest.”
Isaiah 18:5 For, before the
harvest, when the blossom is gone
and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off the shoots with pruning knives,
and cut down and take away the spreading branches.
Get out of the way.
The harvests are at the national level. So specific individuals are not targeted. Hence, a rich man would be anyone who lives in a rich country. This would be the West and friends - the rich lands. The rich lands are targeted for harvest.
Matthew 19:24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven (God.)
The rich (people in the rich lands) aren't getting in because they will be wiped out in the harvests. If you flee from one rich land to another rich land, then you will still be at risk. This is the pit mentioned in Isaiah 24:17-18. The snare would be the fake Jesus.
Too bad nobody will listen. Look at this short section from Luke:
The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31)
Luke 16:27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family,
Luke 16:28 for I have five brothers.
Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
Luke 16:29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
Luke 16:30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
Luke 16:31 “He said to him,
‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
The rich man is in hell. He wants to warn his brothers not to come to that place.
But they are not going to listen. In this case, "they" means you.
In real life, the rich man had just experienced a harvest (nuclear war). He is in the process of dying from nuclear radiation and is in extreme pain. He will be dead soon. Lazarus (the poor man) is in the kingdom of heaven which is on Earth.
How does one go about avoiding the harvests?
Watch for the return of Jesus, so you can be ready for the harvests:
The Importance of Watching
Luke 21:34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.
Luke 21:35
For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.
Luke 21:36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Now you see that the return of Jesus is near and the harvests are threatening. It's time to pick gates. The poor lands are not directly targeted for harvest. They are the safer option. But you literally have to move to a poor land. And that is not going to happen. Hence, the whole camel, eye of needle thing in Matthew 19:24.
Matthew 25 seems to give us the big picture surrounding the return of Jesus. The harvests are covered in the parable of the talents and the fake Jesus is covered in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins.
Matthew 25:14-30 - Parable Of The Talents | Christian Forums
Matthew 25:14-30 - Parable Of The Talents
Hey Foolish Virgins from Matthew 25:1-13: Did you hit your head or something? | Christian Forums
Hey Foolish Virgins from Matthew 25:1-13: Did you hit your head or something?
If a harvest is nearing your country, then leave on an adventure trip. Move down to South America. Possible countries include Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile.
If you just don't feel like taking an adventure trip, then there will be consequences. Your death will be extremely painful, and it will be unfavorable to Jesus.
What radiation does to the human body | HBO's Chernobyl - YouTube
What does it mean to take up your cross and follow Jesus?
Take Up the Cross and Follow Him
Luke 9:23 Then He said to them all, “
If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
Luke 9:24
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
Luke 9:25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?
Luke 9:26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory,
and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.
Luke 9:27
But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:23-27 is talking about the time surrounding the return of Jesus and the establishment of the kingdom of heaven (God) on Earth. You will have to deny yourself (Luke 9:23). And you may have to accept death by refusing the mark (Luke 9:24.) You will need to avoid the harvests of destruction (Luke 9:25.) Finally, you will need to stand before Jesus upon his arrival (Luke 9:27.)
Choose the do something gate over the do nothing gate.