Who are the Elect?
Let’s confine our study of this matter to the word elect as it is used in both the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. After all, the opinions of men are of little consequence – it is what God says on a matter that is important.
The Hebrew word so translated is bachiyr; in the KJV, it has been translated as elect – four times, as chosen – eight times, and once as choose.1 With the exception of choose, all of the uses of this word include a suffix that identifies the chosen, or elect, as being of Jehovah.2 Seven times the word is used in a plural form, and although they primarily refer to the children of Jacob, or Israel, as a people, in Isaiah 65:9 a reference is made to those who are now in Christ. “And I will bring forth a seed [singular – the Seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15)] out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor [to take possession of; singular – Jesus is of the tribe of Judah, and the One Who will gather all things together (Ephesians 1:10)] of my mountains: and mine elect [plural, with Jehovah suffix] shall inherit it [possess it and dwell there, the faithful in Christ have an inheritance through Him (Ephesians 1:11)], and my servants [or worshippers of Jehovah] shall dwell there.”3 There are some who will say that this is not a reference to Christ’s ekklesia, but to the nation of Israel. As part of this study we will also touch on the role of Israel as it is revealed in the Scriptures, and then we will understand that this is a Messianic prophecy that looks forward to the reconciling work that Christ came to do.
Bachiyr is also used to refer specifically to the coming Messiah: “Behold my servant [a parallel to Philippians 2:7], whom I uphold; mine elect [bachiyr; Chosen; singular], in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment [or justice] to the Gentiles [non-Jewish people]” (Isaiah 42:1).4 This is very clearly a messianic prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus Christ; Matthew specifically noted that Jesus was the fulfillment of this passage from Isaiah (Matthew 12:18-21; Isaiah 42:1-4) – there can be no question that mine Elect is a reference to Christ: the Chosen of God! Micah prophesied: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel [speaking of the Lord Jesus]; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2) – the Word came out of eternity to take on a body of flesh (Jesus): “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word [the Word became flesh, John 1:1-2, 14], and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (1 John 5:7). The Word was chosen in eternity past to enter this world in a body of flesh for the purpose of paying the price for sin; John the Baptist recognized this truth: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29b). The eternal purpose of the Lord was to send the Word (an eternal part of the Godhead) to pay the price for the sin that would be committed by a humanity who was yet to be created – Jesus (the Word become flesh) was chosen to bring redemption to humanity. Within the eternal counsels of God, Jesus is the Elect – chosen for a very specific purpose! It is clear from this that being God’s elect is for a reason, and it is also important that we understand that the application of the term elect is highly dependent upon its context.
Isaiah received a message from the Lord regarding Cyrus (a king of Persia who came onto the scene over a century after this message5), the Lord’s anointed, who would be commissioned by Jehovah to accomplish His purposes even though he (Cyrus) would not know the Lord (Isaiah 45:1-4). The purpose of the message was that he would know that Jehovah is the God of Israel, and that he (Cyrus) had been called by God “For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect …” (Isaiah 45:4a). The relationship of Israel to the Lord is both as a servant and as His elect (this is entirely consistent with what we have seen so far). As the Lord brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, He expressed His desire for them: “And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Exodus 19:6a) – a desire that was contingent upon their obedience to His commandments (Exodus 19:5). A priest acts as an intermediary between God (in this case) and man, and must have an established relationship with God in order to communicate His expectations to man, as well as intercede with God on his behalf – the priest is a servant of God. God’s desire for Israel to be a holy nation was so that they might present a favored view of God to the world – they should live out God’s desire for mankind as His elect, His chosen ones. Israel, as God’s elect, was chosen for two specific purposes: 1) to be a light for Jehovah in a spiritually dark world, and 2) that through them, all families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). As a people, Israel had great difficulty being a light for the Lord; as a matter of fact, by the time of Isaiah, the traditions of the priests and sacrifices had become empty rituals that continued to foreshadow the coming Savior but brought no present cleansing from sin for Israel; even though the blood flowed from the many sacrifices, God tells them that their hands are full of blood and their empty liturgies are evil (Isaiah 1:15-16). Despite failing to be a faithful servant of the Lord, Israel still remained the Lord’s elect for that second purpose, and “when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman” (Galatians 4:4). Israel, as God’s elect, was the chosen family line through whom the Savior would be born, and it was through Him that all families of the earth have been blessed!
We have looked at how the OT Scriptures have revealed Christ and Israel as the elect, as well as an indication that those who will follow the Elect (Christ) will also be called elect. We have also noted that the chosen of God are to accomplish specific purposes. Let’s now move on to consider the concept of elect as it is used within the NT so that we can complete our understanding of God’s intent in this matter.
Elect, in Greek, is eklektos; in the KJV, it appears 16 times as elect and 7 as chosen.6 Twice the word is used in reference to Jesus as the Elect of God: 1) the rulers of the Jews taunted the Lord Jesus while He was dying for their sins (and ours), to save Himself if He was truly the Christ, the Elect of God (Luke 23:35, literal);7 2) Peter quotes part of Isaiah 28:16 where the coming Messiah is called a precious corner stone, and includes the word eklektos, Jesus is the Elect – the Chosen of God to bear the sin of the world! The Jewish religious leaders wondered whether Jesus was the Elect, but Peter removes any doubt by showing Him to be the fulfillment of OT prophecy and calling Him Elect (1 Peter 2:6).
The NT also includes a reference to Israel as being God’s elect: “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:22; parallel in Mark 13:20). Jesus was explaining to His disciples what was coming, and this is specifically directed to the time of the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem; He told them of signs to watch for, along with the instruction to then flee from the city without stopping for anything (Luke 21:20-21). As these signs unfolded in 70 AD, those who were His children and familiar with His warnings, fled from the city so that its inhabitants would have been primarily Jews still following the Mosaic traditions – they were Israel, His elect as the family line for the Messiah. As it turned out, the days of the siege of Jerusalem were shortened, and many of Israel (the OT elect according to God’s purpose) were saved from sure death as a result. Despite their rejection of Jesus as the prophesied Messiah, God still extended mercy to the Jews – almost 100,000 were taken captive (compared to over a million who perished), even as the temple and Jerusalem were leveled, and Judaism, as it had been, was ended.8
Following the verse above, Jesus went on to say, “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before.” (Matthew 24:23-25). Christ (Christos in the Greek) means someone who has been anointed; within the Mosaic tradition, it was the priests and the High Priest who were anointed with a special holy oil, thereby setting them apart unto Jehovah and ministry in the tabernacle (Exodus 30:30-31).9 Then is a time marker; what Jesus is about to reveal, follows that of which He has just spoken – namely, the circumstances that would surround the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem. Earlier, Jesus had told His disciples that He would be leaving them, preparing a place for them, and then coming again to take them to be with Him (John 14:1-3). Jesus used this passage to prepare His disciples for what was coming, when He would no longer be with them; His concluding comment was: look, I have forewarned you (Matthew 24:25, literal).10 In other words, Jesus told them about what was coming as a warning so that they would be prepared and not be drawn into error.
When Jesus ascended to heaven, the disciples were told: “… this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). With the promise of Jesus’ return, there seems to have been some expectation among that first generation of Christians that Jesus, the Christ, could come at any moment. Paul comforted the Thessalonian Christians by telling them that they had not missed Jesus’ return, despite what some people were saying (2 Thessalonians 2:2), and then he went on to explain that there were specific events that would take place before the day of His return. In our passage, Jesus is explaining to His disciples that, following the destruction of Jerusalem, some will come who will declare themselves to be the Christ; so if someone was to say that the Christ is over here, they should not believe him because that is not how Jesus will return. We can readily understand that now because of the teachings of Paul, but for those who had not been under his teaching, this might have been more difficult to discern.
In our study, the question that we face at the moment is this: does elect in our passage (verse 24) refer to the same people as those in verse 22? Let me provide compelling evidence that it does not.
After the death of Alexander the Great, Judea became a part of the Seleucid Empire that continued with Alexander’s campaign to impose Hellenistic practices upon everyone, and that included the Jews. This led to many conflicts centered on the practice of Judaism, and ultimately resulted in the desecration of the temple in Jerusalem; the Maccabees (the Hasmonean Dynasty) revolted and were able to free most of Jerusalem and the temple in 164 BC. From this time, through to the rise of Herod the Great in 37 BC, the Jews maintained control of the temple area of Jerusalem, and gradually gained their freedom to govern themselves without interference.11 With Herod being granted control over Judea by Rome, there was an increase in the number of zealots who sought to break the yoke of oppression that they felt.12 Although the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in 70AD temporarily curbed the activities of the zealots, through the years since there have been those who sought to assume the role of messiah – about 30, since the first century.13 That might seem to be quite a few, but when that number is spread over some 20 centuries, it really isn’t very significant. Jesus’ warning to His disciples to be alert carries a much greater sense of urgency than that would warrant – the elect, in this case, are not the Jews.
Jesus recognized that as He instituted the New Covenant through His shed blood, death and resurrection, there would come many false Christs (pseudochristos) who, being enabled by Satan, would seek to draw those who are in Christ away from Him. It is important to understand that with the institution of the New Covenant, in the eyes of the Lord, Judaism came to an end; Jesus made it very clear that He came to fulfill the Mosaic Law and the prophetic writings (Matthew 5:17), and He did just that. The writer of Hebrews explained it: but Christ did come, a High Priest of the coming good things through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hand – that is, not of this creation; neither through the blood of goats and calves, through His own blood He did enter once for all into the holy places – eternal redemption He did obtain (Hebrews 9:11-12, literal).14 The Jews were God’s elect from the time of Abraham – the one to whom God made this promise: “… in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:3b); it was through this chosen family line that the Savior of the world would come. The fulfillment of this OT promise, made to the father of the Jews, came in the form of Jesus Christ! Although salvation has always been for everyone, during the time of the Jews the universality of God’s provision became buried by their traditions to the point that even the majority of their own people no longer understood His marvellous salvation that was available by faith alone. With the establishment of the New Covenant in His blood, Christ brought the Jewish traditions to an end – symbolized by the veil of the temple, that protected the Holy of Holies, being torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). Through His death, full payment for the sins of the world was made (1 John 2:2) – the Jewish priesthood was replaced by Jesus, and the temple was rendered of no further use. In fact, the New Covenant brought the Mosaic Covenant (or, the Old) to an end; the writer of Hebrews declared: by saying ‘new,’[referring to Jehovah’s prophecy through Jeremiah about when He would make a new covenant]; He made the first obsolete, and what is being made old, even is old – close to disappearing (Hebrews 8:13, literal).15 By paying for sin, Jesus made the first obsolete, and thereby God’s provision of salvation became uniquely available to everyone: 1) the debt of sin was now paid in full – no more continual sacrifices, only faith in the Lord’s Provision and faithfulness to His commands was required (Hebrews 10:14; Matthew 24:13), 2) as our High Priest, Jesus is now our intercessor with the Father (Romans 8:34), and 3) the Spirit of God now abides within the faithful one to provide guidance and strength (John 16:13).
Therefore, since the Jewish priesthood and temple were replaced by Jesus, our High Priest and eternal Sacrifice, the Lord’s promise to Abraham was complete! Despite their many departures from the Lord, Israel had been used by God to bring the Savior into the world – the eternal Word became flesh (John 1:14). Consider Jesus’ words again: “For there shall arise [future tense!] false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24).16 The elect, in this case, can only refer to those who are in Christ by faith and living in obedience to His commands. Faith and obedience cannot be separated: “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17). The only works that this can mean are those that are in keeping with the faith; faith in the Lord Jesus must be followed by works of obedience to Him. Jesus said that if you are loving Him (faith), then you must be obedient to His commands – works that are in keeping with the faith (John 14:15). Jesus’ warning is against being persuaded by the coming false Christs (pseudochristos) and false prophets (pseudoprophetes) to turn away from Him.
The quoted verse under consideration carries this phrase: if it were possible, which actually makes it sound like it is not possible; however, this is another occasion when the KJV translators followed the Bishops’ Bible rather than the Greek text.17 You will notice that the words it were are in italics in the KJV, which means that these have been supplied by the translators and don’t appear in the Greek text – that is true! The Greek text reads: if possible; the Greek word dunatos speaks of ability, strength and might.18 The false christs and prophets will show mighty signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect (literal);19 this sounds much more like something that could happen, and this is why Jesus forewarned His disciples against being taken in by these charlatans. This fits well with the warning issued by the writer of Hebrews: “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing [aposthnai, becoming apostate] from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12); notice that the warning is issued to brethren who were earlier called holy brethren (Hebrews 3:1) – this is not an alert that is sounded against a hypothetical possibility, but against a potential reality! Jesus has warned us to be alert to the ability of false teachers to make themselves appear to be credible, after all “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).
As Paul wrote to the Colossians, he referred to them as being “the elect of God, holy and beloved” (Colossians 3:12); he addressed this epistle to “the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse” (Colossians 1:2a). Although this is specifically written to those who were a part of the assembly at Colossae, they were in Christ in exactly the same way as we are today; therefore, we can take how Paul identified them as fitting for us, as well. The first thing that is evident is that the elect of God are within the context of the Gospel (the New Covenant) – those who are in Christ! Holy (hagioi) and saints (hagiois) are different forms of the same Greek word that speaks of being consecrated to God, set apart unto Him, and therefore, those who have been made fit to enter into His holy presence through the cleansing that comes by way of the blood of Jesus.20 Beloved is a perfect, passive participle: they having been loved – it is God’s love expressed to His elect (passive voice), and His love is a completed one-time action that continues in full effect (perfect tense).21 The final descriptive is: faithful brethren in Christ. Holy describes our restored position through Christ before God, beloved tells of how God views those who have been made holy in Christ, and this last phrase describes the maintenance of this wonderful relationship with the Lord: the holy and beloved are faithful to Christ! From this we understand that the elect are holy before God, they are beloved by God, and they are those who remain faithful to God. However, most significant is the phrase in Christ – being holy and faithful in Christ makes us beloved of the Father and His elect. As we consider this carefully, we can understand that being among God’s elect is a reflection of who we are before Him in Christ.
The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, worthy of praise, having blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ, even as He did choose us in Him before the foundation of the world; we being holy and without fault before Him, in love He did predetermine us unto adoption through Jesus Christ to Himself according to the favor of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace in which He highly favored us in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:3-6, literal; emphasis added to show the central role of Christ).22 We are the elect of God as we are in Christ and as we remain in Him.
The word elect appears once more in Matthew’s Gospel: “And he [Jesus] shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31). This is yet future, with which most will agree, and therefore, it should be apparent that the elect in this case are those who are faithfully in Christ. This is preceded by: “all the tribes of the earth … shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30). When Jesus ascended to the Father, “he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9); the angels told His watching disciples that He would “come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). As Paul explained Jesus coming for His own, he wrote: “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). Jesus said that He would come in the clouds, a trumpet would sound, and His angels would gather His elect – this can be nothing other than the rapture! The elect are those who have remained faithfully in Christ unto the end, who are at that moment resurrected and gathered in their glorified bodies to be with the Lord.
Let’s recap what we have learned. First of all, context is very important in determining who the elect are in a given passage. When I say, context, I am referring to the context of Scripture, not how it may fit within the framework of a favored theology. Reading the Scriptures with an overarching theology in mind is like watching a sunset with your eyes closed – you may well be able to detect the waning light, but the magnificent details will be lost to you. I challenge you to allow God’s Word to speak for itself; it will mean much more work for you, but the benefits are amazing! I can understand how difficult it is to only depend upon what God has given to us – it was around the year 2000 that I began in earnest to test all things by the Scriptures. In short order it became very evident to me that most of the doctrines that I had been taught in church and college needed to come under the illumination of God’s Word – yes, we have had to make many changes, but they come easier when you understand what God has said on a matter. It’s difficult to shut the teaching that you have received out of your mind, but it is well worth the effort. Most preachers have not studied God’s Word as much as they have studied the theologies that men have assembled; consequently, there is a measure of consistency among them, with very little that is new and refreshing. It is only as we are committed to the Scriptures for our spiritual light that we are able to change our thinking and behavior to align more closely to God’s requirements without fear – man’s theologies limit us to the accepted narrative. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments …” (Psalm 111:10).
We have learned that elect is used in the Scripture for three people or groups of people:
1. The children of Israel – God’s purpose for choosing Abraham (the father of the Jews) was so that, through his family line, all families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). This was a narrowing of the more general promise in Genesis 3:15 that the Seed of a woman would come to crush Satan’s head – it identified that from the descendants of Abraham would come the One Who would defeat Satan, and so fulfill the promise made to Abraham.
2. The Lord Jesus Christ – “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things … But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained [proginosko, to know beforehand] before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Peter 1:18-20).23 In the eternal counsels of God, it was determined that the eternal Word (Who was part of this counsel) would come to earth in the body of man in order to redeem him from sin – the Word is God’s Elect, chosen from before creation to bring salvation to a lost humanity, not yet created.
3. Those who are in Christ – these have placed their faith in the Elect (#2) and have remained faithful (obedient) to Him. We have learned that faith without obedience is a dead faith in which there can be no salvation (James 2:17); Jesus clarified that if we are loving Him, then we must also be obedient to His commands (John 14:15). Jesus also said that it is the one who remains faithful to Him unto the end who will be saved (Matthew 24:13). Who are the elect who are in Christ? “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (1 Timothy 2:5-6). For all of humanity (those who were, are and are yet to be), there is only one Mediator, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ! The OT saints, from the Garden of Eden onward, all knew the promise of God that a Redeemer was coming, the faithful clung to this promise, and their faith was expressed through a blood sacrifice to the Lord – a foreshadowing of the coming of God’s Elect Who would pay the price for sin. After the Elect (Jesus) paid the price for sin, we can now place our faith in Him and His completed work of redemption. The OT saints looked forward and the NT saints look backward, but both look to God’s only Mediator for their salvation. Let’s pause here for a moment and ponder this truth!
“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4); this means that all of the sacrifices that the OT saints made could not remove their sins. Yet Jesus came at the appointed time (Galatians 4:4) and fulfilled those foreshadowed sacrifices that were made in faith, thereby providing the OT saints with the cleansing from sin that they could never have before He came. “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:12) – God’s foreknown Elect One brought eternal redemption through His sacrifice! After delineating some of the faithful among the OT saints, the writer of Hebrews makes this observation: “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without [apart from] us should [will; this is a purpose clause and the subjunctive form of perfect is to be understood as a statement of intent, not just a possibility24] not be made perfect [complete]” (Hebrews 11:39-40).25 Both the OT and NT saints are saved through faith in the Lord Jesus (as He was promised, and as He came); therefore, both are in Him, Who is the only way to the Father (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). Jesus clarified this during His earthly ministry: “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold [aule, an unroofed enclosure; a metaphorical reference to Israel]: them also I must bring [ago; lead], and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold [poimne; flock], and one shepherd [poimen]” (John 10:16).26 Jesus states that He will be the Shepherd of one flock that will be comprised of OT, NT and Millennium saints – all saved through Jesus, our Savior, Lord, and Mediator.
Who are the elect? We can now say with confidence that they are those from all ages who place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and have lived/are living in faithful obedience to Him!
The Hebrew word so translated is bachiyr; in the KJV, it has been translated as elect – four times, as chosen – eight times, and once as choose.1 With the exception of choose, all of the uses of this word include a suffix that identifies the chosen, or elect, as being of Jehovah.2 Seven times the word is used in a plural form, and although they primarily refer to the children of Jacob, or Israel, as a people, in Isaiah 65:9 a reference is made to those who are now in Christ. “And I will bring forth a seed [singular – the Seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15)] out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor [to take possession of; singular – Jesus is of the tribe of Judah, and the One Who will gather all things together (Ephesians 1:10)] of my mountains: and mine elect [plural, with Jehovah suffix] shall inherit it [possess it and dwell there, the faithful in Christ have an inheritance through Him (Ephesians 1:11)], and my servants [or worshippers of Jehovah] shall dwell there.”3 There are some who will say that this is not a reference to Christ’s ekklesia, but to the nation of Israel. As part of this study we will also touch on the role of Israel as it is revealed in the Scriptures, and then we will understand that this is a Messianic prophecy that looks forward to the reconciling work that Christ came to do.
Bachiyr is also used to refer specifically to the coming Messiah: “Behold my servant [a parallel to Philippians 2:7], whom I uphold; mine elect [bachiyr; Chosen; singular], in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment [or justice] to the Gentiles [non-Jewish people]” (Isaiah 42:1).4 This is very clearly a messianic prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus Christ; Matthew specifically noted that Jesus was the fulfillment of this passage from Isaiah (Matthew 12:18-21; Isaiah 42:1-4) – there can be no question that mine Elect is a reference to Christ: the Chosen of God! Micah prophesied: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel [speaking of the Lord Jesus]; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2) – the Word came out of eternity to take on a body of flesh (Jesus): “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word [the Word became flesh, John 1:1-2, 14], and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (1 John 5:7). The Word was chosen in eternity past to enter this world in a body of flesh for the purpose of paying the price for sin; John the Baptist recognized this truth: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29b). The eternal purpose of the Lord was to send the Word (an eternal part of the Godhead) to pay the price for the sin that would be committed by a humanity who was yet to be created – Jesus (the Word become flesh) was chosen to bring redemption to humanity. Within the eternal counsels of God, Jesus is the Elect – chosen for a very specific purpose! It is clear from this that being God’s elect is for a reason, and it is also important that we understand that the application of the term elect is highly dependent upon its context.
Isaiah received a message from the Lord regarding Cyrus (a king of Persia who came onto the scene over a century after this message5), the Lord’s anointed, who would be commissioned by Jehovah to accomplish His purposes even though he (Cyrus) would not know the Lord (Isaiah 45:1-4). The purpose of the message was that he would know that Jehovah is the God of Israel, and that he (Cyrus) had been called by God “For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect …” (Isaiah 45:4a). The relationship of Israel to the Lord is both as a servant and as His elect (this is entirely consistent with what we have seen so far). As the Lord brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, He expressed His desire for them: “And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Exodus 19:6a) – a desire that was contingent upon their obedience to His commandments (Exodus 19:5). A priest acts as an intermediary between God (in this case) and man, and must have an established relationship with God in order to communicate His expectations to man, as well as intercede with God on his behalf – the priest is a servant of God. God’s desire for Israel to be a holy nation was so that they might present a favored view of God to the world – they should live out God’s desire for mankind as His elect, His chosen ones. Israel, as God’s elect, was chosen for two specific purposes: 1) to be a light for Jehovah in a spiritually dark world, and 2) that through them, all families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). As a people, Israel had great difficulty being a light for the Lord; as a matter of fact, by the time of Isaiah, the traditions of the priests and sacrifices had become empty rituals that continued to foreshadow the coming Savior but brought no present cleansing from sin for Israel; even though the blood flowed from the many sacrifices, God tells them that their hands are full of blood and their empty liturgies are evil (Isaiah 1:15-16). Despite failing to be a faithful servant of the Lord, Israel still remained the Lord’s elect for that second purpose, and “when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman” (Galatians 4:4). Israel, as God’s elect, was the chosen family line through whom the Savior would be born, and it was through Him that all families of the earth have been blessed!
We have looked at how the OT Scriptures have revealed Christ and Israel as the elect, as well as an indication that those who will follow the Elect (Christ) will also be called elect. We have also noted that the chosen of God are to accomplish specific purposes. Let’s now move on to consider the concept of elect as it is used within the NT so that we can complete our understanding of God’s intent in this matter.
Elect, in Greek, is eklektos; in the KJV, it appears 16 times as elect and 7 as chosen.6 Twice the word is used in reference to Jesus as the Elect of God: 1) the rulers of the Jews taunted the Lord Jesus while He was dying for their sins (and ours), to save Himself if He was truly the Christ, the Elect of God (Luke 23:35, literal);7 2) Peter quotes part of Isaiah 28:16 where the coming Messiah is called a precious corner stone, and includes the word eklektos, Jesus is the Elect – the Chosen of God to bear the sin of the world! The Jewish religious leaders wondered whether Jesus was the Elect, but Peter removes any doubt by showing Him to be the fulfillment of OT prophecy and calling Him Elect (1 Peter 2:6).
The NT also includes a reference to Israel as being God’s elect: “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:22; parallel in Mark 13:20). Jesus was explaining to His disciples what was coming, and this is specifically directed to the time of the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem; He told them of signs to watch for, along with the instruction to then flee from the city without stopping for anything (Luke 21:20-21). As these signs unfolded in 70 AD, those who were His children and familiar with His warnings, fled from the city so that its inhabitants would have been primarily Jews still following the Mosaic traditions – they were Israel, His elect as the family line for the Messiah. As it turned out, the days of the siege of Jerusalem were shortened, and many of Israel (the OT elect according to God’s purpose) were saved from sure death as a result. Despite their rejection of Jesus as the prophesied Messiah, God still extended mercy to the Jews – almost 100,000 were taken captive (compared to over a million who perished), even as the temple and Jerusalem were leveled, and Judaism, as it had been, was ended.8
Following the verse above, Jesus went on to say, “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before.” (Matthew 24:23-25). Christ (Christos in the Greek) means someone who has been anointed; within the Mosaic tradition, it was the priests and the High Priest who were anointed with a special holy oil, thereby setting them apart unto Jehovah and ministry in the tabernacle (Exodus 30:30-31).9 Then is a time marker; what Jesus is about to reveal, follows that of which He has just spoken – namely, the circumstances that would surround the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem. Earlier, Jesus had told His disciples that He would be leaving them, preparing a place for them, and then coming again to take them to be with Him (John 14:1-3). Jesus used this passage to prepare His disciples for what was coming, when He would no longer be with them; His concluding comment was: look, I have forewarned you (Matthew 24:25, literal).10 In other words, Jesus told them about what was coming as a warning so that they would be prepared and not be drawn into error.
When Jesus ascended to heaven, the disciples were told: “… this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). With the promise of Jesus’ return, there seems to have been some expectation among that first generation of Christians that Jesus, the Christ, could come at any moment. Paul comforted the Thessalonian Christians by telling them that they had not missed Jesus’ return, despite what some people were saying (2 Thessalonians 2:2), and then he went on to explain that there were specific events that would take place before the day of His return. In our passage, Jesus is explaining to His disciples that, following the destruction of Jerusalem, some will come who will declare themselves to be the Christ; so if someone was to say that the Christ is over here, they should not believe him because that is not how Jesus will return. We can readily understand that now because of the teachings of Paul, but for those who had not been under his teaching, this might have been more difficult to discern.
In our study, the question that we face at the moment is this: does elect in our passage (verse 24) refer to the same people as those in verse 22? Let me provide compelling evidence that it does not.
After the death of Alexander the Great, Judea became a part of the Seleucid Empire that continued with Alexander’s campaign to impose Hellenistic practices upon everyone, and that included the Jews. This led to many conflicts centered on the practice of Judaism, and ultimately resulted in the desecration of the temple in Jerusalem; the Maccabees (the Hasmonean Dynasty) revolted and were able to free most of Jerusalem and the temple in 164 BC. From this time, through to the rise of Herod the Great in 37 BC, the Jews maintained control of the temple area of Jerusalem, and gradually gained their freedom to govern themselves without interference.11 With Herod being granted control over Judea by Rome, there was an increase in the number of zealots who sought to break the yoke of oppression that they felt.12 Although the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in 70AD temporarily curbed the activities of the zealots, through the years since there have been those who sought to assume the role of messiah – about 30, since the first century.13 That might seem to be quite a few, but when that number is spread over some 20 centuries, it really isn’t very significant. Jesus’ warning to His disciples to be alert carries a much greater sense of urgency than that would warrant – the elect, in this case, are not the Jews.
Jesus recognized that as He instituted the New Covenant through His shed blood, death and resurrection, there would come many false Christs (pseudochristos) who, being enabled by Satan, would seek to draw those who are in Christ away from Him. It is important to understand that with the institution of the New Covenant, in the eyes of the Lord, Judaism came to an end; Jesus made it very clear that He came to fulfill the Mosaic Law and the prophetic writings (Matthew 5:17), and He did just that. The writer of Hebrews explained it: but Christ did come, a High Priest of the coming good things through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hand – that is, not of this creation; neither through the blood of goats and calves, through His own blood He did enter once for all into the holy places – eternal redemption He did obtain (Hebrews 9:11-12, literal).14 The Jews were God’s elect from the time of Abraham – the one to whom God made this promise: “… in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:3b); it was through this chosen family line that the Savior of the world would come. The fulfillment of this OT promise, made to the father of the Jews, came in the form of Jesus Christ! Although salvation has always been for everyone, during the time of the Jews the universality of God’s provision became buried by their traditions to the point that even the majority of their own people no longer understood His marvellous salvation that was available by faith alone. With the establishment of the New Covenant in His blood, Christ brought the Jewish traditions to an end – symbolized by the veil of the temple, that protected the Holy of Holies, being torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). Through His death, full payment for the sins of the world was made (1 John 2:2) – the Jewish priesthood was replaced by Jesus, and the temple was rendered of no further use. In fact, the New Covenant brought the Mosaic Covenant (or, the Old) to an end; the writer of Hebrews declared: by saying ‘new,’[referring to Jehovah’s prophecy through Jeremiah about when He would make a new covenant]; He made the first obsolete, and what is being made old, even is old – close to disappearing (Hebrews 8:13, literal).15 By paying for sin, Jesus made the first obsolete, and thereby God’s provision of salvation became uniquely available to everyone: 1) the debt of sin was now paid in full – no more continual sacrifices, only faith in the Lord’s Provision and faithfulness to His commands was required (Hebrews 10:14; Matthew 24:13), 2) as our High Priest, Jesus is now our intercessor with the Father (Romans 8:34), and 3) the Spirit of God now abides within the faithful one to provide guidance and strength (John 16:13).
Therefore, since the Jewish priesthood and temple were replaced by Jesus, our High Priest and eternal Sacrifice, the Lord’s promise to Abraham was complete! Despite their many departures from the Lord, Israel had been used by God to bring the Savior into the world – the eternal Word became flesh (John 1:14). Consider Jesus’ words again: “For there shall arise [future tense!] false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24).16 The elect, in this case, can only refer to those who are in Christ by faith and living in obedience to His commands. Faith and obedience cannot be separated: “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17). The only works that this can mean are those that are in keeping with the faith; faith in the Lord Jesus must be followed by works of obedience to Him. Jesus said that if you are loving Him (faith), then you must be obedient to His commands – works that are in keeping with the faith (John 14:15). Jesus’ warning is against being persuaded by the coming false Christs (pseudochristos) and false prophets (pseudoprophetes) to turn away from Him.
The quoted verse under consideration carries this phrase: if it were possible, which actually makes it sound like it is not possible; however, this is another occasion when the KJV translators followed the Bishops’ Bible rather than the Greek text.17 You will notice that the words it were are in italics in the KJV, which means that these have been supplied by the translators and don’t appear in the Greek text – that is true! The Greek text reads: if possible; the Greek word dunatos speaks of ability, strength and might.18 The false christs and prophets will show mighty signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect (literal);19 this sounds much more like something that could happen, and this is why Jesus forewarned His disciples against being taken in by these charlatans. This fits well with the warning issued by the writer of Hebrews: “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing [aposthnai, becoming apostate] from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12); notice that the warning is issued to brethren who were earlier called holy brethren (Hebrews 3:1) – this is not an alert that is sounded against a hypothetical possibility, but against a potential reality! Jesus has warned us to be alert to the ability of false teachers to make themselves appear to be credible, after all “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).
As Paul wrote to the Colossians, he referred to them as being “the elect of God, holy and beloved” (Colossians 3:12); he addressed this epistle to “the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse” (Colossians 1:2a). Although this is specifically written to those who were a part of the assembly at Colossae, they were in Christ in exactly the same way as we are today; therefore, we can take how Paul identified them as fitting for us, as well. The first thing that is evident is that the elect of God are within the context of the Gospel (the New Covenant) – those who are in Christ! Holy (hagioi) and saints (hagiois) are different forms of the same Greek word that speaks of being consecrated to God, set apart unto Him, and therefore, those who have been made fit to enter into His holy presence through the cleansing that comes by way of the blood of Jesus.20 Beloved is a perfect, passive participle: they having been loved – it is God’s love expressed to His elect (passive voice), and His love is a completed one-time action that continues in full effect (perfect tense).21 The final descriptive is: faithful brethren in Christ. Holy describes our restored position through Christ before God, beloved tells of how God views those who have been made holy in Christ, and this last phrase describes the maintenance of this wonderful relationship with the Lord: the holy and beloved are faithful to Christ! From this we understand that the elect are holy before God, they are beloved by God, and they are those who remain faithful to God. However, most significant is the phrase in Christ – being holy and faithful in Christ makes us beloved of the Father and His elect. As we consider this carefully, we can understand that being among God’s elect is a reflection of who we are before Him in Christ.
The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, worthy of praise, having blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ, even as He did choose us in Him before the foundation of the world; we being holy and without fault before Him, in love He did predetermine us unto adoption through Jesus Christ to Himself according to the favor of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace in which He highly favored us in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:3-6, literal; emphasis added to show the central role of Christ).22 We are the elect of God as we are in Christ and as we remain in Him.
The word elect appears once more in Matthew’s Gospel: “And he [Jesus] shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31). This is yet future, with which most will agree, and therefore, it should be apparent that the elect in this case are those who are faithfully in Christ. This is preceded by: “all the tribes of the earth … shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30). When Jesus ascended to the Father, “he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9); the angels told His watching disciples that He would “come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). As Paul explained Jesus coming for His own, he wrote: “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). Jesus said that He would come in the clouds, a trumpet would sound, and His angels would gather His elect – this can be nothing other than the rapture! The elect are those who have remained faithfully in Christ unto the end, who are at that moment resurrected and gathered in their glorified bodies to be with the Lord.
Let’s recap what we have learned. First of all, context is very important in determining who the elect are in a given passage. When I say, context, I am referring to the context of Scripture, not how it may fit within the framework of a favored theology. Reading the Scriptures with an overarching theology in mind is like watching a sunset with your eyes closed – you may well be able to detect the waning light, but the magnificent details will be lost to you. I challenge you to allow God’s Word to speak for itself; it will mean much more work for you, but the benefits are amazing! I can understand how difficult it is to only depend upon what God has given to us – it was around the year 2000 that I began in earnest to test all things by the Scriptures. In short order it became very evident to me that most of the doctrines that I had been taught in church and college needed to come under the illumination of God’s Word – yes, we have had to make many changes, but they come easier when you understand what God has said on a matter. It’s difficult to shut the teaching that you have received out of your mind, but it is well worth the effort. Most preachers have not studied God’s Word as much as they have studied the theologies that men have assembled; consequently, there is a measure of consistency among them, with very little that is new and refreshing. It is only as we are committed to the Scriptures for our spiritual light that we are able to change our thinking and behavior to align more closely to God’s requirements without fear – man’s theologies limit us to the accepted narrative. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments …” (Psalm 111:10).
We have learned that elect is used in the Scripture for three people or groups of people:
1. The children of Israel – God’s purpose for choosing Abraham (the father of the Jews) was so that, through his family line, all families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). This was a narrowing of the more general promise in Genesis 3:15 that the Seed of a woman would come to crush Satan’s head – it identified that from the descendants of Abraham would come the One Who would defeat Satan, and so fulfill the promise made to Abraham.
2. The Lord Jesus Christ – “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things … But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained [proginosko, to know beforehand] before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Peter 1:18-20).23 In the eternal counsels of God, it was determined that the eternal Word (Who was part of this counsel) would come to earth in the body of man in order to redeem him from sin – the Word is God’s Elect, chosen from before creation to bring salvation to a lost humanity, not yet created.
3. Those who are in Christ – these have placed their faith in the Elect (#2) and have remained faithful (obedient) to Him. We have learned that faith without obedience is a dead faith in which there can be no salvation (James 2:17); Jesus clarified that if we are loving Him, then we must also be obedient to His commands (John 14:15). Jesus also said that it is the one who remains faithful to Him unto the end who will be saved (Matthew 24:13). Who are the elect who are in Christ? “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (1 Timothy 2:5-6). For all of humanity (those who were, are and are yet to be), there is only one Mediator, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ! The OT saints, from the Garden of Eden onward, all knew the promise of God that a Redeemer was coming, the faithful clung to this promise, and their faith was expressed through a blood sacrifice to the Lord – a foreshadowing of the coming of God’s Elect Who would pay the price for sin. After the Elect (Jesus) paid the price for sin, we can now place our faith in Him and His completed work of redemption. The OT saints looked forward and the NT saints look backward, but both look to God’s only Mediator for their salvation. Let’s pause here for a moment and ponder this truth!
“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4); this means that all of the sacrifices that the OT saints made could not remove their sins. Yet Jesus came at the appointed time (Galatians 4:4) and fulfilled those foreshadowed sacrifices that were made in faith, thereby providing the OT saints with the cleansing from sin that they could never have before He came. “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:12) – God’s foreknown Elect One brought eternal redemption through His sacrifice! After delineating some of the faithful among the OT saints, the writer of Hebrews makes this observation: “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without [apart from] us should [will; this is a purpose clause and the subjunctive form of perfect is to be understood as a statement of intent, not just a possibility24] not be made perfect [complete]” (Hebrews 11:39-40).25 Both the OT and NT saints are saved through faith in the Lord Jesus (as He was promised, and as He came); therefore, both are in Him, Who is the only way to the Father (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). Jesus clarified this during His earthly ministry: “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold [aule, an unroofed enclosure; a metaphorical reference to Israel]: them also I must bring [ago; lead], and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold [poimne; flock], and one shepherd [poimen]” (John 10:16).26 Jesus states that He will be the Shepherd of one flock that will be comprised of OT, NT and Millennium saints – all saved through Jesus, our Savior, Lord, and Mediator.
Who are the elect? We can now say with confidence that they are those from all ages who place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and have lived/are living in faithful obedience to Him!
ENDNOTES:
1 Strong’s Online, https://onlinebible.net/.
2 Brown, Driver, Briggs Lexicon (BDB), Bibleworks 8.
3 Ibid.
4 Strong’s Online; BDB.
5 Isaiah’s ministry was from about 767 to 687 BC (https://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2017/07/updated-chart-of-israels-and-judahs-kings-and-prophets/), and Cyrus was king of Persia from about 550 to 529 BC (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cyrus-the-Great).
6 Strong’s Online.
7 Stephanus 1550 NT, Bibleworks 8.
8 Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, Book V Chapter 3, footnote #752 (from the complete works of Josephus).
9 Friberg Lexicon, Bibleworks 8.
10 Stephanus 1550 NT.
11 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasmonean_dynasty.
12 https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12416-pseudo-messiahs.
13 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_messiah_claimants.
14 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Gingrich Lexicon, Bibleworks 8.
15 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; with the destruction of the temple in 70AD, the Old Covenant disappeared.
16 Strong’s Online.
17 King James laid out 15 rules for translation, and the first one was: “The ordinary Bible read in the Church, commonly called the Bishops Bible, to be followed, and as little altered as the Truth of the original will permit” (https://petergoeman.com/15-rules-of-translation-for-the-king-james-version-kjv/).
18 Strong’s Online.
19 Stephanus 1550 NT.
20 Ibid.
21 https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/verbs1.htm#AORIST.
22 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
23 Strong’s Online.
24 https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/subj-purpose.htm.
25 Friberg Lexicon.
26 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
1 Strong’s Online, https://onlinebible.net/.
2 Brown, Driver, Briggs Lexicon (BDB), Bibleworks 8.
3 Ibid.
4 Strong’s Online; BDB.
5 Isaiah’s ministry was from about 767 to 687 BC (https://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2017/07/updated-chart-of-israels-and-judahs-kings-and-prophets/), and Cyrus was king of Persia from about 550 to 529 BC (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cyrus-the-Great).
6 Strong’s Online.
7 Stephanus 1550 NT, Bibleworks 8.
8 Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, Book V Chapter 3, footnote #752 (from the complete works of Josephus).
9 Friberg Lexicon, Bibleworks 8.
10 Stephanus 1550 NT.
11 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasmonean_dynasty.
12 https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12416-pseudo-messiahs.
13 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_messiah_claimants.
14 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Gingrich Lexicon, Bibleworks 8.
15 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; with the destruction of the temple in 70AD, the Old Covenant disappeared.
16 Strong’s Online.
17 King James laid out 15 rules for translation, and the first one was: “The ordinary Bible read in the Church, commonly called the Bishops Bible, to be followed, and as little altered as the Truth of the original will permit” (https://petergoeman.com/15-rules-of-translation-for-the-king-james-version-kjv/).
18 Strong’s Online.
19 Stephanus 1550 NT.
20 Ibid.
21 https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/verbs1.htm#AORIST.
22 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
23 Strong’s Online.
24 https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/subj-purpose.htm.
25 Friberg Lexicon.
26 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.