How Many In Heaven?

[ICXCNIKA]

In Matt. 7:14 our Lord says “the gate is narrow and the way is hard that lead to life and those who find it are few.”

In Rev. 7:9 we read “behold a great multitute which no man could number…standing before the throne and bdfore the Lamb clothed in white…they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.”

In Matthew we are told that few find life (or the gate that leads to life) and in Revelation we read that there no man can number those who have washed their robes (I assume these folks are saved).

So which is it, few or many?

Or is there hyperbole here that I am missing?

If it is hyperbole, why opposite hyperbole?

 

[Nita]

Mt. 7:13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 7:14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Vs 13: If you examine carefully, all it says is that they enter, or begin, on the way that leads to destruction. It does not say that everyone that enters that way remains there.
Vs 14: Basically it says that this path to life is difficult to find and there are few who do. It doesn’t say that all who find it stay on it. Neither does it say that anyone who isn’t on that narrow path is excluded from life.

In interpreting the narrow gate of verse 14, I see two possibilities:

1. The narrow gate is Jesus. Those on the narrow path would be Christians.
2. The narrow gate is the Catholic Church, the Mystical Body of Christ. (This is the interpretation I favor)

When you consider the world population, past and present, those who found the narrow gate are proportionately few. But we accept that there can be people other than Catholics and other Christians in heaven. Thus there can be few on the narrow path, yet great multitudes in heaven.

Nita

 

[Spirithound]

In Matt. 7:14 our Lord says “the gate is narrow and the way is hard that lead to life and those who find it are few.”

In Rev. 7:9 we read “behold a great multitute which no man could number…standing before the throne and bdfore the Lamb clothed in white…they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.”

So which is it, few or many?

I agree that it’s all really a matter of perspective. The proportion of humanity that finds the narrow path and follows it to the end is rather small, however, given the number of people in the world, the number itself is quite high.
Just as a little reference as a kid, I would often sleep over at my Oma’s house, and I would just count for half an hour or so before drifting off to bed, and well, it took me several years to reach 100,000
So, the number 144,000 given in Rev, even tho it’s a definite number, is pretty well uncountable (and symbolic ))

 

[Nita]

Something I was also trying to point out is that the many who enter the wide gate may not pursue walking down the path to its end. They may recognize the error in their thinking and ways and try to correct it (for a visual image: they may turn around and try to walk back or get off the path). Recognizing their error they try to figure out what is right path. Yet, because the good gate is narrow (hard to spot/not automatically evident/etc,) they may not even see it. One thinks of all the countries where Catholicism is a very tiny percent of the population. Also, because Christianity is so contrary to their previous thinking, it may not cross their minds as a feasible option - even tho they are searching for the right path.

These people could be described as people that entered the wide gate, recognized its error and are leaving it, yet have not spotted and entered the narrow gate. They could well be part of the multitude in heaven.

Altho Jesus’ parable doesn’t actually include this possibility, it doesn’t exclude it either.

Nita

 

[ICXCNIKA]

Thank you. I like the perspectives you present.

I’ve thought about the “few” as those few who find the narrow way, not necessarily as the few who reach heaven.