By Debby Tertocha and Jim Dunlap in Shepherd's Corner · Edit Doc
A little over 10 years ago, I partook in this interview on a live on-air radio broadcast on a radio station in Boston. This is the transcript. All honor, praise and glory go to our Heavenly Father.
Q. Jim, in telling us about the elect, let's start from the very beginning. Who are the elect and where did they come from?
A. God has a chosen people who are predestined. These chosen people are known as "the elect". God did not arbitrarily decide who would be His Elect and who would not be. God is righteous, not arbitrary. The Elect earned this position during the 1st Earth Age, 1/3 of the angels followed after Satan in Satan's rebellion against God, and this is why God had to destroy that 1st Earth Age. The Elect were angels that stood against Satan in the 1st earth age. These angels are still required to come to this earth in a flesh body born of woman without any recollection of the 1st earth age. The difference is, these souls have already been judged and will not be judged again. For this reason, they are referred to in the Bible as God's Elect - those who were chosen from before the foundations of the earth.
Q. What are the Scriptures in the Bible that refer to the Elect?
A. When referring to God's Elect, the Word says, "According as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself." (Eph 1:4-5). "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ." (Eph. 1:11-12). The Elect are permitted some things. Being sealed can come in many levels (3). It is not some mark on you, it is in your mind. God's word is powerful if you are sealed. Don't disappoint Him. See Eph. 4:29-32. Be a comfort. Don't upset people. A good way to live even in your own family. There are times to win an argument and a time to lose an argument. Sometimes you're a winner if you lose temporarily. Keep quiet if it is something that doesn't amount to a hill of beans. Stick to the main subject. Satan loves people to argue over nonsense.
The Bible says the Elect have a mission for God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28). Ultimately, God will make sure you get on the right train. He will intercede in your life. God has His hand on His Children more than you might think! "You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you." (John 15:16). That's the name of the game. The Elect are given power from God to execute His purpose for them. If God be for us, who can be against us? (Rom. 8:31). Always protect your credibility. Use common sense. That's wisdom. God uses who He will. See Matt. 24:6,24.
God's Elect are called to take the Word to those with free will, in order to spread the mysteries revealed to them about Christ and the redemption of mankind. In Ephesians 3:9, the apostle Paul talks about the mysteries of God. What Paul is referring to is the mystery of the 3 earth ages concerning the overthrow of Satan and the redemption of mankind. Paul is revealing these mysteries so that others [the Gentiles] might understand and be fellow heirs and of the same body and partakers of His promise in Christ (Eph. 3:6).
Q. How do we know that our souls existed prior to this present Earth Age?
A. We know because the Bible tells us God foreknew us. "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." (Rom. 8:29). God could have only previously known us in an age prior to the present age. Because of faithfulness and obedience of these angels in the 1st Earth Age, God made them His Elect. These are His first-fruits. If you have ever wondered why some people seem to be so fortunate while others suffer so dearly, it is not because God arbitrarily decided who would or who would not be blessed. Our fate was determined by the degree of our love and loyalty to God in the 1st Earth Age. Similarly, Satan also has an election.
Q. How do we know our souls pre-existed?
A. Evidence of the existence of the soul prior to its occupation in the flesh body is found in Jeremiah. "Before I formed you in the belly I knew you; and before you camest forth out of the womb I sanctified you, and I ordained you a prophet unto the nations." (Jer. 1:5). How could God have known Jeremiah before he was formed in the womb unless Jeremiah's soul had been in existence before it was placed in his flesh body? Jeremiah's soul, as did your soul, was created by God and pre-existed during the 1st Earth Age.
Q. This sounds very similar to reincarnation. Are you talking about reincarnation?
A. Absolutely not. This is different from the concept of reincarnation, for reincarnation teaches that your soul could come back in the body of an animal, or an insect, or that it could have pre-existed in several different flesh bodies. Furthermore, reincarnation has nothing to do with the redemption of the soul. During the Millennium, we will be in an immortal, incorruptible angelic body that will live on this earth for 1000 years during the Millennium reign of Christ. By the same token also, God is not going to ask us to do anything that He is unwilling to do Himself. Therefore, God Himself came to this earth in a flesh body, known as Jesus. After Jesus was crucified, He arose from the dead. In other-words, His Spirit returned to its Spiritual body, just as your spirit will return to its spiritual body when you die.
Q. What does it mean to be pre-destined?
A. What this means is that the Elect basically do not have free will. Everyone other that the elect have the freedom to chose God as their Father or Satan as their father. God's Elect don't have the choice because they already made that choice. They chose to stand up against Satan in the 1st Earth Age. Therefore, they have already been judged or justified and will not be judged again.
Q. Are there any Scriptures to back up this view that the elect have been already judged?
A. Yes. In Romans, the Scripture tells us the elect have already been justified, and therefore will be spared from having to make the decision a 2nd time. "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." (Rom. 8:30). The elect have already been justified by standing up against Satan. Can-Do types!!! They have already been judged and will not be judged again come Judgment Day at the end of the Millennium.
Q. So the elect are "called". Can you give us some examples from the Scriptures of those who are "called"?
A. Yes. The elect are those who are called "according to His purpose" or called to do the Lord's work. God calls out His Elect from the rest of His creation. Jeremiah, the apostle Paul, and Jesus' disciples were all called. Jesus simply called His disciples and they came. Jonah is a prime example of one of God's Elect that did not have free will. Jonah refused to do what God wanted him to do by fleeing in a ship from the area where God wanted him to go. Therefore, God had a whale swallow Jonah until Jonah was willing to do what God wanted him to do. If Jonah had free will, God would not have made him go to Nineveh. Those other than the elect have free will, that is, freedom to choose whether to follow after God of fallow after Satan, because they have yet to prove their loyalty to God.
Q. How many of God's Elect are there?
A. The Scriptures tell us that God has reserved 7000 men that have not bowed their knee to Baal. This is found in 1 Kings 19:18 and Romans 11:4: "But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal." This is prophetic, it has not yet come to pass. We will not bow to antichrist. These are known as the "very elect" as found in Matt. 24:24. "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.". These are teachers, preachers, and "reverends". If you are still in the flesh, he's antichrist, a fake, Because when the true Christ returns, we ALL are turned into our spiritual bodies.
Q. Are these different than the 144,000 who I believe are also part of the elect, is that correct?
A. Yes. The 144,000 are part of the elect but they are not the very elect. The very elect have a special work to do for our Father in the end time.
Q. What is the elect's role in the end time?
A. Satan has been trying to foil God's plan for the salvation of mankind from the beginning but without success. But Satan's fate was sealed when Jesus was crucified, and he is a defeated foe, and his efforts to thwart God's plan shall fail. Satan's last effort shall be in this end time when he sets himself up in the Temple of God claiming to be God "and does great wonders, so that he makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men deceiving the very elect if possible." The elect are the only ones who are not deceived by the antichrist, and because they do not worship the antichrist, they will be delivered up before the antichrist during the antichrist's reign. In this reward, the elect have a very important role to perform for our Father during the antichrist's reign on this earth, for the Scriptures tell us that they will be "delivered up" for a testimony against Satan. "But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. And the gospel must first be published among all nations. But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Spirit." (Mark 13:11-13). When the Elect are delivered up, they are not suppose to pre-meditate what they will say, for the Holy Spirit will speak through them. Before Christ's return, we just read that the gospel will be published among all nations because they will be speaking not in an unknown tongue, but the voice of many waters, which is the voice of our Father, that everyone will understand in their own language.
Q. Is there any chance that the elect will blow it during this time?
A. There is a chance, but it is highly unlikely. There is only 1 sin that is unforgivable, and that unforgivable sin can only be committed by the elect. That sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. In Luke 12:10-12, the Scriptures read, "And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven. And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say." Should one of the elect be delivered up before the synagogues of Satan and refuse at all to let the Holy Spirit speak through them, they would be committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will be unforgivable. All other sins can be forgiven except this one. This is the hour of Temptation. We do not find Satan tempting. We find him an abomination! Pentecost tongue spoken at this time only!!! Satan = Death.
Q. When the elect are delivered up and the Holy Spirit begins speaking through them, what happens then?
A. If you can imagine the elect being on trial and all of the scripture lawyers questioning them about the denial of their king, this event will no doubt be broadcast on satellite for all the world to watch. When all of the people in the world hear the Lord speaking though His Elect, the seeds that have been planted in their minds by the elect will sprout, and they will come out of deception. These people who come out of deception are known as the 144,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel.
Q. Is this an exact number?
A. No. The Greek for thousand is khil-ee-as (5505 in the Strongs Concordance), and means "thousands", it is a plural number. There is also a Scripture in Revelation that gives a witness to the fact that there will be more than just 144,000 individuals that are redeemed from the earth. Rev. 5:8-11 reads, "And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, "Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for You were slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; " Again, this plural word is chillias, the same word used when referring to the 144,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel.
Q. What role do the elect have in the Millennium?
A. The Bible tells us that the only ones who do not follow Satan during the reign of antichrist in the end time are God's Elect. This does not mean that the rest of mankind will be destroyed in the lake of fire. No one will be sentenced to the 2nd death (death of the soul) until the end of Christ's Millennial reign, and the only ones sentenced to die will be those who choose to follow after Satan. However, the only ones allowed in God's Kingdom when it returns to earth during the Millennium are those who did not follow Satan during his rule in this earth age. Satan's delusions will be so strong that even the elect would be deceived if possible. Because they already have been justified, the elect cannot be deceived, and therefore will not be deceived by the antichrist when he comes.
Q. Will the elect have special privileges during the Millennium?
A. The elect are the only ones allowed into God's Kingdom during the Millennium. However, this does not mean that everyone else will not make it into heaven. Everyone else will be in heaven because heaven is here on earth along with God's Kingdom. Those other than the elect will reside in angelic bodies outside of God's Kingdom here on earth. During the Millennium, the elect will receive God's Word directly from God, and will be responsible for taking the Word to those outside of the Kingdom of God who have not had a chance to hear the truth. Those who receive the Word from the elect will then have the opportunity to choose between God or Satan at the end of the Millennium when Satan is loosed for a short season. Those who choose God over Satan will be spared from having their souls destroyed, and then become part of God's Kingdom and will be given eternal life. This is to say that they will be given an immortal soul along with their angelic body. Those who choose to follow Satan will be destroyed along with Satan in the lake of fire on Judgment Day. Judgment Day occurs at the conclusion of the 1000 year Millennium, which is the conclusion of this earth age. Following Judgment Day, the 3rd earth age and and the rest of eternity begin.
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