What does Matthew 7:22-23 mean, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?"

Whosoever Will, The Gift Was Certainty: Hold Abraham next to the crowd in Matthew 7, the ones who stand before Christ and hear Him say He never knew them. Look at what they offer in their defense. They prophesied. They cast out demons. They did many wonderful works. Every item on their list is external. Every item is performance. Their entire rebuttal is a scorecard of spiritual activity, and not one line of it has anything to do with loving Him or surrendering to Him. They had been keeping a tally and mistaking the tally for the relationship. Abraham is the photographic negative of that crowd. He brought no scorecard up the mountain. He had no works to recite, no record of wonders to read back to God. He had only a surrendered heart and a willingness to obey when obedience cost him the one thing he could not bear to lose. The Matthew 7 group had the activity and not the heart. Abraham had the heart and, in that moment, not even the comfort of understanding why. Scripture, King James Version: Matthew 7:22-23, "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.".

Verified. Every scripture quotation on this page has been checked word-for-word against the King James text. Last reviewed 2026-10-18.