What Marks the Remnant
In many of the prophetic books of the Old Testament there is mention of a remnant of God’s people who will be delivered from the judgment of God (war, famine, plague, exile, etc.). While the majority of the people of Israel and Judah will bear the consequences of their sin, this small group of people will survive. They will return from exile back to the promised land and flourish. These prophetic words came true some time after the Assyrian (722 BC) and Babylonian (586 BC) invasions and exiling of Israel and Judah. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah detail the remnant returning and rebuilding the temple and the wall around Jerusalem.
The remnant in the Old Testament is a prophetic foreshadowing of what will happen in the end times. Paul warns in 2Thessalonians 2:1-3 that there will be “a great falling away” (NKJV). Jesus warns in Matthew 24:10-14 that “many will fall away” (ESV translation) and “the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
Some churches and many cults have labeled themselves as “the remnant.” For such churches they tend to emphasize strict, holy lifestyles and can sometimes take pride in how much they pray and fast (Luke 18:9-14). For the cults (false churches) they tend to push it to another level and crown their leader with godlike status and really believe that only they will be delivered from the end of the world (Heaven’s Gate, for example). A healthy church can sometimes drift away from truth when they emphasize the holy lifestyle so much that people feel deeply condemned when they mess up. People feel like they have to work to earn acceptance (this is what all other religions apart from Christianity believe). This emphasis can turn new believers into “twice as much a child of hell” (words of Jesus in Matthew 23:15). The Pharisees in the Bible took holiness to ridiculous levels and it created deep pride and self-worship among those “doing well” and deep condemnation and scorn for those “not doing well.” The people Jesus rebuked the most were the Pharisees. Interestingly, the people Jesus was the most gracious with were the sinners.
Ezekiel 37:22-37 is a beautiful prophetic passage about the remnant and what God will do for those He delivers. What’s interesting is that the mark of the remnant is not self attained holiness, but rather a fallen group of people with deeply repentant hearts. The remnant will constantly recognize that their deliverance was not achieved from anything good that they have done. Rather the remnant will recognize just how fallen they once were and how much grace they need from God. And their holiness won’t have anything to do with their own rules/self works, rather their holiness will come from God’s Spirit being put into them (Ezekiel 37:27). Their desire to live right won’t come out of fear of God or fear of the community, instead their desire to live right will come out of love and appreciation to God. And the power of His Spirit within them will give them the grace they need to overcome sin and walk with God.
The irony of churches (and cults) labeling themselves as a “remnant” is that the remnant in the Bible were a bunch of sinners who deserved punishment, but were only spared by God’s grace. No pride should be taken in being labeled as part of the remnant. Only praise to God for His grace and for His Spirit who gives us strength.
We have nothing to boast in ourselves. Any good that comes from us truly comes from God. Any love that we have to offer is from God working through us. It is God who gives us strength and victory.
2Corinthians 12:8-9 – “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
