Perhaps we should examine that scripture a little more closely....?
Matthew 7:13-14...
"Go in through the narrow gate, because broad is the gate and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are going in through it; 14 whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are finding it."
So we have two 'gates' and two 'roads'....we choose to enter through either one of those gates of our own free will, which puts us on one of those two roads.
One gate is "broad" and it leads onto a "spacious" road that many obviously find attractive and easy to navigate....they also feel confident because they are in the company of "many" like-minded ones in their travels. They stay on this easy road until they all reach its only destination...."destruction".
The other gate is "narrow", leading onto a "cramped" road. This road has obstacles and is difficult to navigate, not knowing what is around any corner. Being forced to tread warily to avoid the pitfalls.....but those who find this gate and travel this road will gain "life" as opposed to "destruction" for the others. Why would anyone knowingly choose the wrong road? So perhaps it isn't "knowingly"....
How easy are people convinced about something they "want" to believe?It is true that God is the only one who can show us the way to this narrow gate....in fact John 6:44 and 65 tells us that no one will come to the son, without an invitation from the Father. No one will even think of changing roads unless God's spirit motivates them to do so. He does not motivate everyone...only the genuine seekers.
The God of the Bible has only one name......
Exodus 3:14-15....
"And Moses said to God, "Behold I come to the children of Israel, and I say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?" יגוַיֹּ֨אמֶר משֶׁ֜ה אֶל־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֗ים הִנֵּ֨ה אָֽנֹכִ֣י בָא֘ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ וְאָֽמַרְתִּ֣י לָהֶ֔ם אֱלֹהֵ֥י אֲבֽוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם שְׁלָחַ֣נִי אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם וְאָֽמְרוּ־לִ֣י מַה־שְּׁמ֔וֹ מָ֥ה אֹמַ֖ר אֲלֵהֶֽם:
14God said to Moses, "Ehyeh asher ehyeh (I will be what I will be)," and He said, "So shall you say to the children of Israel, 'Ehyeh (I will be) has sent me to you.'" ידוַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־משֶׁ֔ה אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה וַיֹּ֗אמֶר כֹּ֤ה תֹאמַר֙ לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה שְׁלָחַ֥נִי אֲלֵיכֶֽם:
15And God said further to Moses, "So shall you say to the children of Israel, 'The Lord God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is My name forever, and this is how I should be mentioned in every generation. טווַיֹּ֩אמֶר֩ ע֨וֹד אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶל־משֶׁ֗ה כֹּ֣ה תֹאמַר֘ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ יְהֹוָ֞ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י אֲבֹֽתֵיכֶ֗ם אֱלֹהֵ֨י אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִצְחָ֛ק וֵֽאלֹהֵ֥י יַֽעֲקֹ֖ב שְׁלָחַ֣נִי אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם זֶה־שְּׁמִ֣י לְעֹלָ֔ם וְזֶ֥ה זִכְרִ֖י לְדֹ֥ר דֹּֽר:" (Tanach)
"The Lord God" here is יְהֹוָ֞ה (Yahweh...Jehovah) that was his name "forever" and how he was to be "mentioned in every generation". The Jews failed to uphold God's name however, and all mention of it was eventually lost.
But there is no other name for God ever given, which to me suggests that all the names of other gods are not his.
There are a few other things that allow me to state with certainty that Jehovah does not tolerate the worship of any other gods but himself. This was part of the 10 Commandments. (Exodus 20:2-3) He always had his prophets point out this very important message.
Deuteronomy 13:6-11....
“If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or your cherished wife or your closest companion should try to entice you in secrecy, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ gods that neither you nor your forefathers have known, 7 from the gods of the peoples all around you, whether near you or those far away from you, from one end of the land to the other end of the land, 8 you must not give in to him or listen to him, nor should you show pity or feel compassion or protect him;. . . .And you must stone him to death, because he has sought to turn you away from Jehovah your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery."
There is no way to combine the worship of false gods with the worship of Jehovah. It was a capital offense to introduce the worship of false gods. God acted to punish the offenders.
Even in Christianity, there was to be no fusing of false worship with true worship....
2 Corinthians 6:14-18....
"Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light have with darkness? 15 Further, what harmony is there between Christ and Beʹli·al? Or what does a believer share in common with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement does God’s temple have with idols? For we are a temple of a living God; just as God said: “I will reside among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 17 “‘Therefore, get out from among them, and separate yourselves,’ says Jehovah, ‘and quit touching the unclean thing’”; “‘and I will take you in.’” 18 “‘And I will become a father to you, and you will become sons and daughters to me,’ says Jehovah, the Almighty.”
If God is to be "among" his "sons and daughters" they will have nothing to do with "unclean" (false) worship. You cannot have "righteousness and lawlessness" together as if they can somehow agree....you cannot share light with darkness...or truth with lies...or God's temple with idols. But first you have to know the difference.
If you remember the 10 plagues in Egypt, each one was a humiliation of one of Egypt's gods. Rather than embrace these false gods, Jehovah showed them up as powerless.
Israel too when they fell away to the worship of other gods, was shown in no uncertain terms how Jehovah felt about their defection. He describes himself as a "jealous" God who will not tolerate the worship of any other god.
His punishments were severe.
Another point is that Jesus Christ was never to manifest himself in the flesh again. His "coming" as the conquering spirit King with an army of angels, is to crush all opposers of his Father's incoming Kingdom, out of existence. (Daniel 2:44)
Matthew 25:31-46....
"When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit down on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will put the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right: ‘Come, you who have been blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world. . . .“Then he will say to those on his left: ‘Go away from me, you who have been cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. . . . These will depart into everlasting cutting-off, but the righteous ones into everlasting life."
So you see that there are two clear cut designations of humans here, and all will fall into either one category or the other. We will have already proven by our own actions and the direction of our own worship, which category we are in.
Baha'i teachings contradict the Bible in so many ways, but we all have choices about what to believe. The truth shines like a beacon to those whom God grants to reveal his truth through his one and only Messiah.
You can't make God into something he is not.
That is how I see it....
Last edited:
