THE IDENTITY OF THE MIXED MULTITUDES- BY GREG ELKAN

_“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning,”_ – Rom 15:4.

There is a “mixed multitude” in the church today, just as it has always had. They existed in what Stephen called _“The church in the wilderness,”_ (the Israelites in Exodus, Act 7:38), and they exist now. As a matter of fact, our Lord guaranteed it.

In His parable of “The Wheat and the Tares,” the Lord makes us to understand that the Kingdom of Heaven will always have similar-looking people in it until the Last Day, (Mt 13:24-30; 38-42). 

It is therefore imperative for us Believers, not only to be aware of their presence in the Church, but also to be able to identify them. For only when we identify them can we be safe from their negative influence. 

Identifying the “mixed multitude”, however, is not easy. As indicated in our Lord’s parable. The “tares” in the parable are actually wheat as well; but were wild and inedible (and thus useless to the farmer). Wheat and tares look _exactly_ alike – *until they begin to bear fruit!* The tares produce dark grain, while wheat produces light brown grain. 

As with the physical analogy, so is it with the spiritual reality. False Believers in any church look exactly like the true Believers; the only way to identity them is by their FRUITS. 

The “mixed multitude” are not Believers, and as such, they do not produce the fruit of the Spirit, do not have heavenly priorities, and do not have the salvation experience that all Believers share. 

While it would be overly simplistic to say that the problems of every local church is caused by “mixed multitudes,” they do play a significant part in it. As can be seen from their activities in the Wilderness, the desires and focus of mixed multitudes are for carnal things – things that would satisfy their here and now. 

Num 11:4 says, _“And the mixed multitude that was among them had a strong craving: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?”_ This tells us that the carnal desires by the Israelites was provoked by the mixed multitudes among them. 

Beloved, 1Co 15:33 says _“Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”_ We must learn not to move with the crowd, or participate in every “current” movement. Not everyone in the Church is of the Church; therefore our visions, policies, priorities, music, doctrines, etc. must be gauged by the standards of Heaven, and the standards of the scriptures.

AMEN

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

- Nigeria