The Parable of the Narrow Gate
Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
The bible teaches we have to follow the narrow gate for the life even though finding and following the road might hard and difficult and not many will be able to do so. However, it is easy to find and follow the wide and broad gate, which leads us to the destruction and most will follow the way.
Jesus Christ, The Narrow Gate
What is it that God is teaching us through this parable? The answer is in finding the reality of the gate. What is the gate in the bible?
John 10:7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.
While teaching about the true shepherd and the false ones, Jesus teaches that he himself is the gate, which leads to the good pasture. In this sense, we can see the meaning of the parable of the gate.
The Meaning of the Narrow Gate
The narrow gate means the true shepherd or the Savior that we have to meet for the salvation. And the wide and broad ones are those false prophets and false Christs who would come to mislead many to destruction.
Then why is it that Jesus compares himself to the narrow gate which is difficult to find? 2000 years ago when Jesus came to save the Jews, people could not recognize him as the Savior. Deceived by his physical appearance, people disregarded him and rejected him. He was a narrow gate to them hard to find.
John 1:9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Jesus Coming As Man in the Flesh
They thought that God is Almighty and He cannot come as man in the flesh. God had to appear with all the glory and splendor of God that no one could deny the presence of God. However, unlike their expectation, Jesus hid all the glory of God in the flesh. People could see only a weak and vulnerable mortal man in Jesus.
They were so sure that he was not the Christ that they poured curses on their own heads and their children’s. And out of this conviction they could shout confidently that the blood of Jesus would be on them and on their children.
To them Jesus was the narrow gate, small and narrow, hard to find and even more difficult to follow to the end. Just as Isaiah said, Jesus was “a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” Only a few people could receive Jesus as the Christ and be saved.
Second Coming Christ Coming as the Narrow Gate
Prophecies about the Second Coming Christ
The bible testifies that the Christ will come again for the second time. (Hebrews 9:28) And many people believe that he would come with all the glory of God when he appears for the second time.
However, Jesus prophesied that he would come as the narrow gate in his second appearance. While prophesying about his appearance in the last days, he describes his coming like this:
Luke 18:26 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
If the Second Coming Christ should appear with all the power and glory of God, who would make God suffer and who would reject God? But Jesus said that the Christ would suffer and be rejected by the people of the time. What does this mean?
Second Coming Christ Coming as Man in the Flesh
The meaning of Jesus’ message is clear that he would come as man in the flesh for the second time, hiding all the power and glory of God in the flesh. When he comes, people would not recognize him even though he is the one whom they have waited for. They would reject him.
The only way we can recognize the Christ is through the prophecies of the bible. We should not look at his appearance, making the same mistake as the Jews 2000 years ago. We should have the spiritual eyes to see the spiritual glory of God hidden in the flesh.
Christ Ahnsahnghong and Heavenly Mother
Christ Ahnsahnghong came to the earth for the second time for our salvation. Even though he is the second coming Christ prophesied in the bible, not many people know him and receive him. He is the narrow gate. It is the same with God the Mother. Even though she is testified in the bible, she is rejected by people. She is the narrow gate too.
Instead of looking at the fulfillment of the prophecies of the bible, people just focus on the physical appearance of Christ Ahnsahnghong and Heavenly Mother New Jerusalem. And they shout that you are a mere man claim to be God. In the meanwhile, they pour down curses on their own head.
Conclusion
We have to listen to the message in the bible. Peter said that the words of eternal life is in Jesus and since he had faith in those words of God in the bible, he could remain in Jesus to the end. We are small in number, but we were chosen to know the secrets of the bible and come to the narrow gate and we could recognize the glory of God, the salvation of souls granted through God Elohim, Father and Mother.
We should not be deceived by the physical appearance of Father and Mother, but we have to heed the fulfillment of the prophecies of the bible. Father and Mother appeared to us in the flesh for our salvation. They came and went through many pains and sufferings all because of us. To fulfill the prophecies of the bible, they, even though God, were rejected by most people since they were the narrow gate to them. Unlike most of them, we, even though small in number, must have faith in Father and Mother to the end.