Why? Because that is exactly what the scriptures teach.
“
In My Father’s house (kingdom)
are many mansions (dwellings, abodes, conditions or levels of being);
if it were not so, I would have told you…” (
John 14:2)
A failure to distinguish between
the two salvations and
the two phases of God’s kingdom is the primary reasons why many get confused on this issue.
The whole purpose of the spiritual or heavenly phase of the kingdom is to uplift and bless the earthly phase, or as the Lord so states the matter to Abraham, "
In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (
Gen 22:18)
The Apostle Paul informs us in
Gal 3:29 that the
seed here spoken of is not Abraham’s natural seed, but those faithful Christians who fully consecrate themselves to the Lord during the Gospel age, these are to be made heirs according to the promise.
The promise being that the seed would be used to bless everyone else. Now we are at the crux of the matter. If true Christians are the seed, we see God's eventual purpose for them: the blessing of all the nations of the earth, and the resurrecting of all those who have died (just as Abraham expected) so that they too could be blessed. Those who go to heaven will be part of the great Messiah,
the Christ, which will bless those here on earth. (
Obadiah 21) We must bear in mind that when the promise was made to Abraham, he had no conception or idea that there was to be
BOTH an earthly seed as well as a spiritual seed, he expected the same thing that all Jews have always believed, that the Messiah would reign on earth and that they as a nation would be used to bless all the other nations.
Abraham could not have fully understood the Lord’s true meaning when he proclaimed the promise, “
in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven (the heavenly seed, Christ and the Church)
and as the sand which is on the seashore (the earthly seed)…”
Gen 22:17
Here we have our first two planes of existence, and earthly plane and a spiritual or heavenly plane, those who are “
called” now during the “
acceptable time” who are found faithful unto death who make their calling and election sure will share with Christ in his reward and in his inheritance, that reward being the “
crown of life” (
Rev 2:10) the divine nature, inherent life or immortality. It’s being referred to as the “
crown”
of life indicates that it is the highest form of life one which presently is possessed only by the Father and the Son.
To this great reward, “
Many are called.”
But not so many respond to the call. The majority are either deceived by the “
blind guides” of Christendom into believing that a mere profession of faith is all that is required to receive a heavenly inheritance or noting the fact that the Vows of consecration, the requirements necessary to be a disciple of Christ score hard against the will of the flesh and make the way to glory much narrower than they had imagined decline to enter the “
straight gate and the narrow way”.
In order to share in our Lord’s reward it is required that one be willing to share in his cup of suffering and self-sacrifice--share in his baptism into his death. Few there are amongst professed Christians who are willing to do this and fewer still though willing are faithfully fulfilling all that is required of them in their covenant (
1 Cor 4:2). Thus it is that “
Many are called, but few chosen” (
Matt. 20:16), few proven faithful unto death.
But be it noticed that
the called ones, not chosen,
are not condemned, nevertheless they will suffer great loss and disappointment when they realize all that they have lost due to their unfaithfulness, the great prize, the great privilege to which they were invited to aspire.
“
If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss (loss of the prize for which he was called, the privilege of joint heir-ship with Christ in his honor, in his glory, and in the divine nature)
: but he himself shall be saved (saved to a lesser honor, a lower plane of existence);
yet so as by fire (trouble, calamity, great tribulation)”
1 Cor 3:15
"
Every branch in me that bears not fruit he takes away. (
John 15:2)
Many of us, who love the Lord dearly, but because of the deceitfulness (weakness) of the flesh and the love of the world fail to live up to our covenant of
complete sacrifice to the Lord, shall find ourselves relegated to a lesser honor, a lower level upon the spirit plain.
“
In a great house (
My Father’s house)
there are not only vessels of gold (the “
Little Flock”)
and silver (the “
Great Company”),
but also of wood and earth (mankind),
some for (great)
honor and some for less honor.” (
2 Tim 2:20)
The Great Company is a class of those who fail to rectify the failings and sins apparent before them, until they are
purged with fiery trials in order to spare their life, accomplishing for them "
the destruction of the flesh that the spirit (the new life in them)
may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." (
1 Cor. 5:5)
“Those who made a covenant to sacrifice their lives in the service of the Lord, the truth and the brethren, and who on the strength of this were begotten of the Spirit to a
spirit nature, and who subsequently neglected to fulfill their covenant or vow, would be liable to the second death on this account;
but in great mercy the Lord purposes to pass them through a ‘great tribulation’ and to accept as ‘conquerors’ those who will stand the tests of that time of trouble loyally.”
