The phrase “every knee shall bow” is found several times in the Bible. In Isaiah 45:23 God states: “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.” Romans 14:11-12 states: “For as it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess unto God, So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” And of course Philippians 2:9 – 11: “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; That at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Does this mean that all will be saved?   No.   It does mean that at some point in every person’s existence we will bow before God and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord.   Some will do this willingly, others will do it grudgingly.   Warren Wiersbe stated in his commentary on Philippians 2 that “To bow before Him now means salvation; to bow before Him at the judgment means condemnation.”