QB37 Who Are the Elect? (Part 2)

Mat 24:29-31 NKJV 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Agreement over the identity of those being gathered by the Lord’s angels in this well-known passage has been the subject of much debate and controversy for a long time. I believe the key to understanding this passage and to approach eschatology in general, is to do so from the Bridal paradigm, which is inclusive of Israel. The core issue is over the term ‘the Elect’, although it’s worth pointing out, that the passage doesn’t say ‘the Elect’ but ‘His Elect’. The word ‘Elect’ is the word ‘eklektos’ and simply means ‘chosen’, in other words this passage in Matt 24 when speaking of those being gathered it means the ones that Jesus has chosen. It’s really not my intention to argue for a particular viewpoint, as I believe there are problems with any viewpoint, whether it be pre-trib, mid-trib, pre-wrath or post-trib, unless any view is approached from a renewed bridal mindset it will invariably fail to see the bigger picture of the Bride with the Bridegroom who returns to reign upon planet earth. The Bride isn’t a doctrine, that we tag onto the end of the eschatological timeline in Rev 19 onwards, but she is our corporate identity and her footprints are to be seen throughout all scripture, especially as we move into the end times, because it’s as we approach the end that the Bride becomes increasingly evident, as her final preparations are being made. My passion is for the Bride to be ready, to make clear her critical role to play in the end times that necessitates her presence upon the earth during the tribulation. But before I can move on to share more about those things, it’s important to establish this crucial identification of the ‘Elect’ or should I say ‘His Elect’? To do this is not difficult if we approach scripture as we should with an open mind, not looking to put anything into the text that it doesn’t say, but just let the text speak for itself. We must let scripture interpret scripture rather than filter the interpretation through our own prejudices and suppositions, because we’re not looking for scripture to support what we already believe, but calibrate what we believe against what the scripture explicitly teaches. A classic example of this is the pre-trib supposition that the Elect must be Israel because the church would have been raptured before the tribulation. But the text doesn’t say Israel, it says His Elect. In this case, the pre-trib view forces a conclusion on the verse to support its position and doesn’t allow the verse to speak for itself. I hope you can see how dangerous that can be. The right approach is to step back, separate what is being said from what is not, and let scripture interpret scripture. So here’s what I believe is a good exegesis of the term ‘His Elect’. First of all,

  1. Does Jesus use the word ‘eklektos’ (chosen, elect) to refer to Israel elsewhere? The answer is no. When Jesus meant to refer to Israel He did so directly. For example: Matt 10:5,6 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. There isn’t any scripture in which Jesus refers to Israel as ‘His Elect’.
  2. Does Jesus use the word ‘eklektos’ (chosen, elect) elsewhere in His teaching? Yes. When He teaches the parable of the wedding banquet, remember the one who was found at the banquet without the wedding garments on was thrown into outer darkness, Jesus said Matt 22:14“many are called but few are chosen (Elect)”. The Elect are those who shall attend the Marriage Banquet, and as I have shared in our earlier study of the 10 virgins, these are the Bride, for the terms “guest”, “virgin”, “friend of the bridegroom” are all interchangeable depending upon the underlying principle being taught at the time.
  3. Do we know who Jesus’ disciples saw as being ‘His Elect’?  The answer is yes we do. Amongst those closest to the Lord was the apostle Peter. Listen to what he writes  in 1 Peter 1:1-2 NKJV 1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect (eklektos) according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

    Surely, Peter’s view on the Elect should be able to persuade us once and for all, since his view is a reflection of what Jesus’ taught Him. It’s very significant how Peter begins his letter, for he writes to ‘the pilgrims of the Dispersion’ which was a term originally used of the Jews who had been scattered into different lands because of the Roman invasion. Does that mean that Peter saw the Elect as the scattered tribes of Israel? Well, I’ll address that question and more next time.

Did you enjoy this article?

Why not help us to spread the word and use the facebook or other social sharing links below. We'd really appreciate it, thanks!


Other Posts in 'Quick Bites'

QB74 The Bride Has Come of Age (Part 6)

27 Mar 2023
QB74 The Bride Has Come of Age (Part 6) The Changing of the Guard Previously in this series we have explored the concept of the Bride’s coming of age,...

QB73 The Bride Has Come of Age (Part 5)

19 Mar 2023
QB73 The Bride Has Come of Age (Part 5) The Anointing and Baptism of the Bride “(2) [The Shulamite] I sleep, but my heart is awake; [It is] the...

QB72 The Bride Has Come of Age (Part 4)

14 Mar 2023
When the Bride Leaves Home “(9) Kings’ daughters are among Your noble ladies; At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir. (10) Listen, O daughter, give...

QB71 The Bride Has Come of Age (Part 3)

12 Mar 2023
Accession of the Bride Last time in this study of “THE BRIDE HAS COME OF AGE” I shared that coming of age, means reaching the age of majority when...

QB70 The Bride Has Come of Age (Part 2)

10 Mar 2023
The Age of Majority Anyone who looks into Church history will soon discover how incredibly complex and multi-faceted it is, although the astute disciple will readily note pivotal times...

QB69 The Bride Has Come of Age (Part 1)

9 Mar 2023
QB69 The Bride Has Come Of Age – Part 1Introduction On the eighth of June 2022, I documented in my prayer journal these words I heard the Lord say...

QB68 Come Away With Me (Part 8)

17 Jan 2023
“(6) I opened for my beloved, But my beloved had turned away [and] was gone. My heart leaped up when he spoke. I sought him, but I could not...

QB67 Come Away With Me (Part 7)

13 Jan 2023
“(6) I opened for my beloved, But my beloved had turned away [and] was gone. My heart leaped up when he spoke. I sought him, but I could not...

QB66 Come Away With Me (Part 6)

11 Jan 2023
“(4) My beloved put his hand By the latch [of the door], And my heart yearned for him. (5) I arose to open for my beloved, And my hands...

QB65 Come Away With Me (Part 5)

10 Jan 2023
Have you ever had a special night planned with someone you love and it didn’t work out the way you expected? Or ever said to yourself ‘Well, that didn’t...

More Recent Teaching from Mike

Answering the Question: Since God created both male and female in Genesis 1:27 and blessed them, how is it that Adam is alone in Genesis 2:18?

4 Feb 2021
As we shall see later, the answer to this question results in a very important point regarding the relationship between Jesus and His Bride. But first of all we...

Why the Bride was in Jesus upon the Cross

2 Feb 2021
I want to share with you today a very deep and profound belief. One which, though we hold lightly, we do so preciously because it reveals such a glorious...

Dr Mike preaching in Kenya

The Bridal Perspective on Spiritual Warfare (Introduction)

31 Jan 2021
Today I want to develop some deeper truths about the Bride, which I believe will help us to better understand the days in which we are living and the...

Elijah in the cave

Living in Prophetic Consciousness – 7

20 Nov 2019
Living in Prophetic Consciousness – Part 7 To the glorious Bride of our Lord Jesus Christ, I pray that you will stand strong and not be moved away in...

Looking for something? Try the search facility

About the author: Dr Mike Pike

Live with my wife Jo in Cornwall UK, together we have raised five children and have served the Lord for over thirty years within the UK and in many other nations. My passion is for the coming of Jesus the Bridegroom King, and I long to see the Bride call upon Him to come.

CONTACT US


GET CONNECTED

Join our Facebook Group and become part of this growing movement around the world. On the group you'll join the Call2Come family and have the opportunity to participate and discuss various topics and teaching. Being part of the Call2Come family on the Facebook group includes

  • Regular updates and teaching
  • Meet others with a passion for the Lord's return
  • Grow in your own Bridal journey towards the Bridegroom
  • Latest news and developments

CONNECT WITH US

JOIN OUR FACEBOOK GROUP

SUBSCRIBE

If you want to receive our newsletter, simply provide your email in the box below. You will then be sent a confirmation email immediately which you need to respond to. Thank you!