Feast of Tabernacles 2014—Day 5

The Cycle of Human Behavior #1

Fred R. Coulter—October 13, 2014

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Greetings, everyone! Welcome to day five of the Feast of Tabernacles! We're half way through the Feast and into the beginning of the second half. I hope you've had a wonderful Feast so far, and that we understand God's great plan and how He is going to rescue this world.

What a great thing it's going to be; what a wonderful thing it's going to be that God is going to bring to mankind the ultimate of what He can bring for those of us who are human beings. It's going to be a reign that will cover the whole earth. Jesus Christ and the saints will reign and will rule.

Today we want to talk about the rest of God. We will look at some of the types in the Old Testament, as well as look at some of the prophecies concerning the rest of Christ and how it's going to be for the world, and what a tremendous and awesome thing this is going to be. Then we will see what happens to people when everything is measured out good for them. Then we will ask: How will God solve the problems of sin during the Millennium.

I think we'll find this most interesting and most helpful. We're going to look at what is called the glorious rest of Christ. Isa. 11 shows us the basic framework of how things are going to be run and administered during the Millennium. Of course, these are the things that we need to learn now, and what Christ is going to teach us, because we'll still be learning all through eternity.

Isaiah 11:1: "And there shall come forth a shoot out from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots." This is showing that God starts from the smallest possible, then builds from there. You can see this over and over again:

• the creation of Adam and Eve and then with all mankind
• the calling of Abraham as one man
• then Isaac and Jacob and all the children of Israel down to this day

So, the Millennium is going to start that way. Christ and the Church serving, teaching, helping, loving—everything pointing back to God the Father and Jesus Christ—and Jerusalem will be the center of the earth. Everything will come from there.

Verse 2: "And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding…" All of these things are qualities that we are going to need; qualities that we need to be growing in and developing now.

"…wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might…" (v 2). There isn't going to be anything that's going to come against the Kingdom of God during the Millennium; you can be rest assured of that.

"…the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD" (v 2). These are the things that we are going to teach; the knowledge of the Lord is going to be awesome! If we think we have an understanding about God now, just wait until Christ is here.

Verse 3: "And His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. And He shall not judge according to the sight of His eyes, nor after the hearing of His ears. But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth…." (vs 3-4). Just like it was when He was in the flesh on the earth.

• He did nothing of Himself
• He did nothing on His own
• He always did what the Father
  • told Him to do
  • commanded Him to do
  • and that He saw what the Father do Himself

Likewise, it's going to carry through during the Millennium: Christ and His saints ruling. We're going to follow the exact same prescript as that. It's not going to be us, it's going to be Christ, and we—the spirit sons and daughters of God—will be operating according to these very principles right here (Isa. 11).

"…And He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked" (v 4). That's exactly what He's going to do when we all return from the Sea of Glass at the beginning of the Millennium.

But let's understand: all human beings will still have within them 'the law of sin and death.' So there will be those who will not agree with Jesus, who will not agree with the saints. That will be a very small minority, indeed. But nevertheless, remember this: God never takes away free choice! We have to choose all the time. We have to choose:

• to love God
• to serve Him
• to keep His commandments

Likewise with doing things we shouldn't. We choose to do them, whether directly by commission, or inadvertently by omission.

Verse 5: "And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins"—how He controls Himself. Likewise with us. God tests our reins. How do we control ourselves? Think on that and file that in the back of your mind.

There's going to be a complete change in the environment, a complete change in the nature of animals, and an astounding thing is going to happen.

Verse 6: "Also the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the cub lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them." That's going to be a wonderful thing, indeed!

Verse 7: And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the viper's den. 'They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My Holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea'" (vs 7-9). That's quite a thing.

Think about this: With all of that, how much excuse will people have when they don't do right? It looks like very little, indeed!

Verse 10: "'And in that day there shall be the Root of Jesse standing as a banner for the people; to Him the nations shall seek; and His rest shall be glorious.'" Rest means:

• to rest in peace from war
• rest and peace among yourselves
• rest and peace in your mind and heart

All of those apply. Notice how it's going to be:

Isaiah 12:1: "And in that day you shall say, 'I will give thanks to You O LORD; though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You do comfort me.'" That's what we're going to do at the beginning of the Millennium. The most important thing we're going to do is comfort them and get them out of their predicaments.

Verse 2: "'Behold, God is my salvation…'" No more idols, false religions; none of that. However, the mind, human nature.

"'…I will trust and not be afraid; for the LORD God is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation'" (v 2). That's something!

Verse 4: "And in that day you shall say, 'Praise the LORD! Call upon His name; declare His doings among the people, make mention that His name is exalted. Sing to the LORD…'" (vs 4-5). I just imagine that we are going to have, during the Millennium, the greatest amount of singing that the world has ever known. And we can be guaranteed there will be no rock music! That is Satan's music! No rap music! That's also his! There will be singing and praise to God, wonderful and great voices. Everyone serving the Lord. It's going to be like this:

Verse 6: "Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst."

Isaiah 14 is very interesting, because it shows what's going to happen to Jacob, and then we will look at some things in the Old Testament to see how God gave rest to the people. Then there is always something that happens when everything is going good. I don't think that those in the Millennium are not going to be subject to those things.

Isaiah 14:1: "For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel and set them in their own land; and the stranger shall be joined with them, and they shall cling to the house of Jacob. And the people shall take them and bring them to their place; and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids. And they will take them captive whose captives they were, and rule over their oppressors. And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear, and from the hard bondage, which was imposed on you, you shall take up this song against the king of Babylon… [the whole empire of this world has collapsed] …and say, 'How the oppressor has ceased! How his fury has ceased! The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers'" (vs 1-5). That's quite a thing that's going to happen.

REVIVAL:

When God gives rest—and it's going to be glorious—and when the people all begin to learn about the Sabbath, the Holy Days, clean and unclean meats, every idol is going to be abolished. It is going to be, as you might want to reckon it, the greatest revival in the history of the world.

I'm going to read to you from the book An Understandable History of the Bible by Samuel C. Gipp. In it he shows some very interesting thing that are insights into human behavior, and human behavior as a whole. It seems as though every society is subject to this. We have seen it down through history, and we've even seen it in the Church.

He talks about 'religious' movement. But let's talk about it as the natural movement of people, because of the nature of people. Even though human nature is going to be modified a bit, it's still not going to be perfect. Everyone will still have 'the law of sin and death.'

This is what Gipps calls a natural process.

From An Understandable History of the Bible; Aiding the Enemy:

…Every major religious persuasion follows a natural pattern which is nearly impossible to avoid….

A process that leads from seeing the glory of God to experiencing His judgment. Think about this: When the Millennium starts that will be the greatest revival! What is it going to end in at the end of the thousand years? The judgment of God! So, all these things begin in a form of what we could call a revival. That's exactly what it's going to be in the Millennium; the restitution or the restoration of all things as spoken by all the prophets of God and Jesus Christ and the whole New Testament, as well.

EDUCATION:

The next step following revival is education. What are we going to do? Teach and train the people in the way of God! Is that not right? Yes! What happens after they're educated? With that it's going to be the greatest educational thing in the world, teaching the people all during the Millennium, especially starting with that first generation or two.

Remember what happened to the children of Israel after Joshua died and the elders who had seen all the miracles of God? What did they do? They forgot God and went after other gods! We know that during the Millennium there won't be other gods. No one is going to be allowed to build an idol. That's for sure! No one is going to have Satan and the demons coming around to lead them astray, that's true! But nevertheless, there is still a place for idols that no one sees, and that is in the mind and heart! Those will be the biggest problems.

• there will be schools
• there will be colleges
• there will be the teachings of Christ every Sabbath and all the Holy Days the teachings of all the saints to all the people
• they're all going to know the plan of God
• they're all going to hear about what the world was like before Jesus and saints took over

CULTURE:

After that happens, then we have culture. We're going to develop the greatest culture in the history of man. In the world, what happens?

…This process takes from 50 to 100 years. After this period of time, the movement has proved to the world that it is not a "fly by night" outfit but is a force to be reckoned with.

That's certainly going to be true of the glorious rest of Christ and the saints. It's not going to be a 'fly by night' outfit. It is a going to be a glorious thing, indeed!

Then emphasis is put on beautiful buildings and stately college grounds, and we can say that everything in the world is going to be beautiful. All the schools are going to be beautiful. All the meeting houses are going to be beautiful. Jerusalem with a great canopy of the tabernacle of God—that's going to be the temple during the Millennium—is going to be awesome, indeed!

Life is going to settle into generation after generation. There are going to be lots of children, lots and lots of children. We just don't know what that's going to be like.

Sidebar: I saw on television a family—husband and wife and 19 of their own children—happy, fruitful and quite a family, indeed! Think of what it's going to be like in the Millennium! Think of all the education, all the things that need to take place; think of how it's going to be—culture!

• everyone is going to be taught the best
• everyone is going to know how to speak
• everyone is going to know how to sing
• everyone is going to know how to do things
• everyone is going to know how to build

Then the value of the finer things is promoted, because God is going to give the greatest of everything: gold, silver and precious stone, iron, brass, copper, fine linen, great embroidery work; it's going to be the best of everything that ever was.

What that produces after a while is a complacency, and an arrogance. Especially children growing up into it, because that's the way that the world is to them. Just like today, we have a world full of:

• doors open when you come to them
• little speakers telling us what to do music piped into us in the stores
• all of things at home:
• television
• Internet
• electronic devices
• digital devices

Right at our fingertips, all of those things are right there. And this younger generation today is so hooked on those things, combined with entertainment and all the culture that they have developed that they don't even pay any attention as to what is happening in the world, and the problems and difficulties that are there, because they are so diverted in their entertainment and in the things that they are doing!

We can call this Laodiceanism: rich and increased with goods! Are not the people during the Millennium going to be rich and increased with goods? Yea, verily, yea!

APOSTASY:

The final step is apostasy, and we think: How can that happen during the Millennium when all their teachers are around? When they see what's going on and how life it during the Millennium? Why would there be so many people that would apostatize? What is God going to do about that? Remember, God does not take away free moral agency!

Revival is from God. Education is necessary to the training of God's ministers…

He's talking about a church now, but in the Millennium everyone.

…but culture is a product that appeals to the flesh….

Remember, they're still human beings. They need fleshly things. They will enjoy fleshly things.

…Standards become a little more lax….

Then, as the standards go down, the first thing to begin to suffer in Laodiceanism is spiritual conviction! When that happens people begin to rely on themselves as the final authority instead of God.

Will that happen during the Millennium? But of course, it will! Let's jump ahead to Rev. 20; let's see what this tells us what it's going to be like at the end of the Millennium. Satan is put into the abyss, but pay attention to what it says, we'll come back to this on day seven.

Revelation 20:3: "Then he cast him into the abyss, and locked him up, and sealed the abyss over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were fulfilled; and after that it is ordained that he be loosed for a short time."

• Why? Because of apostasy!Because of great Laodicean attitudes that will naturally develop in the cycle of people and civilizations!
• What do they do when Satan is loosed?
• Loosed upon those who are not within the Kingdom of God at that time? They're in a special place called Gog and Magog!
• What does Satan do? He gathers them together for war!
• Is that not the ultimate apostasy against God? Yes, indeed! War!

It didn't start out that way! The Kingdom of God was brought to stop all wars—right? Yes! They weren't even going to learn war anymore! That's what it says in Isa. 2 and in Mal. 4.

So, let's come back now to the book of Joshua and let's see that that's what happened in the wilderness; they apostatized! What happened? God had to punish them by wandering for 40 years! Then they came into the 'promised land,' they fought against the inhabitants that were there. God was with them, but they made a great mistake: they didn't put away all the people, like God said.. God was still merciful and kind.

We want to emphasize the thing concerning rest, Joshua 14:15: "And the name of Hebron before was Kirjath Arba; that one was a great man among the Anakim. And the land had rest from war."

Time of peace! That's why the Millennial time is called the rest of God. That's pictured by the Sabbath (Heb. 4). And it tells how they conquered it:

Joshua 21:44: "And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that He swore to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood before them…. [God carried out His part] …The LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. Not a word failed from any good thing, which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass" (vs44-45). That's quite something! You need to think about that!

• Think about that in relationship to the coming Millennium.
• Think about that in relationship to your own life.

We are going to see that happens in our own lives, also. How many times toward the end of life men and women make great mistakes because they apostatize in their behavior from that which is good, not necessarily from God but including from God. They make terrible mistakes. We've seen some of them. All came to pass, but it's not God's fault! It never is! It's our choices!

Joshua 22:4—Joshua speaking to the Reubenites, Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh who came over to fight: "And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brethren, as He spoke to them. And now turn and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD has given to you beyond the Jordan. Only… [here is the warning]: …diligently take heed to do the commandment and the Law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you…" Think of that!

• When are we to be diligent?
• Part of the time?
• Some of the time?
• Nearly all the time?

or

• All the time?
• ALL THE TIME!

That's why Laodiceanism is going to creep in during the Millennium, especially during the last half. The cycle of how human beings and civilizations are is in the nature of man, not in the fault of God.

Notice what you are to do, "…to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and to cleave to Him, and to serve Him… [whenever you think it's for your own good. NO!] …with all your heart and with all your soul' (vs 4-5). That's quite a statement!

This gives us a really good example, Joshua 23:1: "And it came to pass many days after the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their enemies all around, Joshua became old, advanced in age." He was; he died at 110-years-old.

So, he called them all in and told them not to be complacent, do not let down! After he said that they divided the land:

Verse 6: "And be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses…" We will have the Bible during the Millennium—correct? Yes! Will we have new writings from God to add into that? Without a doubt! The knowledge of God is going to be so great, it's going to be like the waters of the oceans covering the earth. You can't get any more complete than that.

As we read some of these things, think about it. Here they had the battle. They had the revival. They took over the land, they were in their possessions. God gave them rest and now Joshua is going to die. Notice why they do it:

"…so that you do not turn aside from it to the right or to the left, so that you do not mix with these nations, these that remain among you. Neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them. Neither serve them, nor bow yourselves to them…. [That's quite a thing to say! You think about that!] …But cleave to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day" (vs 6-8). That's what they were to do.

They didn't do all that they should have done. They didn't put the people out. What happens when you have a generation that's grown up into a society that is all set and established? Culture! And when culture becomes the main thing, apostasy or slackness to begin with, or Laodiceanism, slothfulness and laziness, not diligence, begins to creep in.

Judges 2:8[transcriber's correction]: "And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being a hundred and ten years old. And they buried him on the border of his inheritance in Timnath Heres, in Mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. And also all that generation were gathered to their fathers…." (vs 8-10).

• they saw all the things that went on during the 40 years of wandering
• they saw all the correction of God
• they saw all of the wars and winning the land

They died out, and look at what happens:

"…And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor even the works which He had done for Israel" (v 10).

It's not going to happen exactly quite that way during the Millennium, because there will no other god! There will be no idols! However, there will be people who will sin. There will be people who will be contrary to God in their mind and heart. They may, on the outside, appear all right, but remember the zeal and the dedication that is needed.

What's going to happen 500 years into the Millennium? How is that going to work? That's the ultimate answer we are going to come to!

Let's understand that after they had all the judges—the ups and the downs… This will not happen in this way during the Millennium. But will there be people who will want to do what is right in their own eyes, because they have the free choice to do so? There surely will! Otherwise, why, at the end of the Millennium, are you going to have the huge apostasy that must be taken care of. Satan is sent to do the 'dirty work.'

Judges 21:25: "In those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did what was right in his own eyes."

I think, I believe—and today what do we have?—that is the pinnacle of how people think today. Everyone has an opinion; everyone has their own thoughts. They don't check them out whether they are right or good. Some are good, some are bad, some are nonsense, some are evil. But everyone does what is right in their own eyes! I wonder what is going to happen during the Millennium?

Let's jump ahead past all the things with Samuel, Saul, with the whole life of David and all the battles and everything that he did. God gave David rest and he had a son named Solomon. Solomon was the one whom God chose to build the temple. God only lived in a tent and tabernacle.

When David was before the tabernacle in a little tent in his house, where the Ark of the Covenant was, ministered by the Levites, when he was playing on his harp or lyre thinking about God, and he thought, 'God, I live in a house of cedar and You live in a tent!' He wanted to build a house for God.

So, God said that he would build a house, but He would not let David build it for Him, because David was a 'bloody man.' But his son who happened to be Solomon. We will see what happened to Solomon.

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SOLOMON'S TEMPLE:

Let's see how David ended and Solomon began. This was quite a gathering, and David in the last years of his life was gathering together gold, silver, iron, brass, copper, fine linen, everything preparation for the temple. God Himself gave the plans for David to draw out. No one is going to build a temple for God unless he uses God's plan! Think on that for a minute in the past history of the Church.

1-Chronicles 28:1—this was quite a meeting: "And David gathered to Jerusalem all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the commanders of the divisions that ministered to the king by division, and the commanders over the thousands, and commanders over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the property and livestock of the king, and of his sons, with the officers and the mighty ones, with all the valiant men. And David the king stood up on his feet and said, 'Hear me, my brethren and my people. I had in my heart to build a house of rest for the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made preparations for the building. But God said to me, "You shall not build a house for My name, because you have been a man of war and have shed blood." However, the LORD God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever. For He has chosen Judah to be the ruler, and of the house of Judah the house of my father. And among the sons of my father's house He was pleased to make me king over all Israel'" (vs 1-4).

We're also going to learn out of this: Never forget history! Never forget the lessons of history! They are there for us to learn. As we look forward to the coming Millennium and the great things that God is going to have us do, let's take to heart all the lessons that we can learn here and apply them to ourselves.

Verse 5: "And of all my sons (for the LORD has given me many sons), He has chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. And He said to me, 'Solomon your son shall build My house and My courts, for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father'" (vs 5-6). Think of that relationship. Isn't that exactly what it is with us? With God the Father and Jesus Christ? Yes! We have been called, chosen and faithful; but we have to endure to the end! We must be diligent all the time.

God said, v 7: "'And I will establish his kingdom forever if…" I want you to understand how conditional these things are; and likewise for all the people during the Millennium. Everything is conditional upon them loving and obeying God. God is never going to take away choice, but

• What is it that we do with our choices?
• What is it that we do with our mind
• What is it that we do with our heart?
• What do we really think in the innermost part of our being?

That's what God wants to know!

"'…if he continues resolute… [constant, never letting up] …in keeping My commandments and My ordinances, as he is today.' And now in the sight of all Israel… [David is speaking here to Solomon] …the congregation of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God, so that you may possess this good land and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you forever'" (vs 7-8). That's to all the people there and to Solomon.

Now he continues the message directly to Solomon in the presence of all the leaders of Israel; they all heard this. Keep that in mind for what Solomon did later.

Verse 9: "And you, Solomon my son, acknowledge the God of your father and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind…" With this, let's ask ourselves:

• How do we serve God?
• Are we serving Him with a perfect, blameless heart?

After all, we're to become perfect, as our Father in heaven is perfect; isn't that true? Yes, indeed! And a willing mind:

• Do we do what God says willingly?
• Without objection?
• Without 'yeah but; I look at it a little differently'?
• Really?
• What is the whole lesson?
• No man has the power to tell God what to do!

Never forget that; that's the great mistake that too many people make.

Here's why, "…for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you…. [that's New Testament doctrine, too. Jesus said that if you seek you shall find.] …But if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever" (v 9). Is that not going to still be the message that we're going to preach during the Millennium? Yes, indeed, because there is always free moral agency, and the choice is there!

Verse 10: "Take heed now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong and do it." Then David gave Solomon all the plans, gave him legal title of all the things that David accumulated to build it.

David said, v 19: "'All this,' said David, 'was in writing from the hand of the LORD. He made me understand all the details of these plans.'…. [That's amazing!] …And David said to Solomon his son…" (vs 19-20). This is exactly what Moses told Joshua—be strong and of good courage, and that was a start for Joshua. We saw how it ended with his death and what the children of Israel did. Here's another start, or a revival; a revival of Israel, a raising up of the temple of God; peace and rest all around.

Verse 20: "And David said to Solomon his son, 'Be strong and of good courage, and do it. Do not fear, nor be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God, will be with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you…'" Remember what it says in Heb. 13, that God is our Helper; 'I will not ever leave you or forsake you." Same thing here, New Testament doctrine.

"…until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD" (v 20). That's something!

David continues in 2-Chronicles 29:1: "And David the king said to all the congregation, 'Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and tender, and the work is great, for the palace is not for man, but for the LORD God. Now, I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the bronze for things of bronze, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood, onyx stones, and stones to be set, and also stones of antimony, and stones of many colors, and every precious stone, and stones of alabaster, in abundance'" (vs 1-2). Then he talks about all the things that he did. Everything was there and shortly after that, David died. He reigned 40 years.

Then we come to the second part of the Chronicles of Ezra, 2-Chronicles 1:1: "And Solomon the son of David was made strong in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him and magnified him exceedingly. And Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to every governor in all Israel, the chief of the fathers. And Solomon and all the congregation with him went to the high place at Gibeon, for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness" (vs 1-3). Then they had their offerings and sacrifices there.

After they got back from those sacrifices, v 7: "In that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him…" God had appeared to Solomon twice. How great a start could you possibly have?

"…'Ask what I shall give you'" (v 7). Isn't that something. Notice that Solomon was little in his own eyes at this time. He was young and tender as David had said, so he probably was about 16-18-years-old.

Verse 8: "And Solomon said to God, 'You have shown great mercy to David my father and have made me to reign in his stead. Now, O LORD God, let Your promise to David my father be established, for You have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude…. [notice what he asked; a great lesson for all of us] …Now, grant me wisdom and knowledge that I may go out and come in before this people. For who can judge this Your people that is so great?' And God said to Solomon, 'Because this was in your heart…'" (vs 8-11). God is the heart knowing God. He looks to the heart.

"…and you have not asked riches, wealth, nor honor, nor the life of your enemies, nor yet have asked for long life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may judge My people, over whom I have made you king" (v 11). Isn't that what we need to rule with Christ?

• Wisdom?
• Judgment?
• Knowledge?
• Understanding?
• The love of God?

Without a doubt!

Verse 12: "Wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. And I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had that have been before you…" That doesn't mean the kings of Israel, because that was only Saul and David. But that's of the kings everywhere in the world.

"'…neither shall any after you have the like.' And Solomon came from the high place that was at Gibeon, from before the tabernacle of the congregation, to Jerusalem and reigned over Israel" (vs 12-13). Now then, he built the temple.

Is there any doubt that he had absolutely the best start of anyone? Without a doubt! No man before him, no man after him. God spoke to him twice, and how it pleased God what Solomon did. Solomon's heart was right. We're going to learn a lesson, and that is this:

• we must be steadfast in our heart
• we must keep ourselves right with God

Remember the if!

2-Chronicles 3:1: "And Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah…" Where did Abraham take Isaac to be offered? On one of the mountains of Moriah!

"…where He appeared to David his father, in the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. And he began to build in the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign" (vs 1-2). Then it describes all the things that he did, everything that was made. Then we have the dedication of the temple, and what a day that was! What they did was bring the tabernacle from Gibeon and brought it down to the temple. That was put into the storage in the caverns beneath the temple. They brought the Ark of the Covenant and placed it in the House of God, the completed temple, with the cherubim built into the walls overshadowing the Ark of the Covenant, carried in there by the priests and the Levites. What a ceremony this was!

There was singing, there was joy, there was everything. One of the greatest ceremonies in the history of the world, more magnificent than anything that has been since then. That will be overshadowed by the ceremony of the acceptance from God the Father of His children through Jesus Christ on the Sea of Glass when:

• we receive our names
• we receive our rewards
• we receive our assignments
• we know what we are to do when we serve and reign with Christ

This was quite a thing! Let's see what happened. Remember, when the temple was dedicated fire came down from God and devoured the sacrifice and His presence—called the Shekhinah—seen in the form of a cloud, entered into the tabernacle to show that the presence of God was there. That happened in all the sight of Israel, right there at Mt. Horeb when the tabernacle was setup in the first day of the first month in the second year.

Let's see what happened here; this is going to be, because of just the setting of it—because of the Feast of Tabernacles and so forth—this has to be the Feast of Trumpets, a fore-type of Christ coming to the earth, coming now at this time into the temple of God.

Verse 11: "And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the Holy place (for all the priests present were sanctified, and did not wait by course), and the Levitical singers—all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being clothed in white linen, and having cymbals and with harps and lyres—stood at the east end of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests sounding with silver trumpets" (vs 11-12). What a magnificent ceremony that is.

Verse 13: "It came to pass, as the trumpeters and the singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the silver trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, 'For He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever,' that the house was filled with a cloud,even the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God!" (vs 13-14).

Then Solomon began his prayer, 2-Chronicles 6:1: "Then Solomon said, 'The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick darkness. Now, I have built a house for You to live in, and a place for Your dwelling forever.' And the king turned around and blessed the whole congregation of Israel…." (vs 1-3). He gave a rehearsal of how the temple came to be. Then he gave a great and wonderful prayer to God (chapter 6)

2-Chronicles 7:1: "And when Solomon had made an end of praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices. And the glory of the LORD filled the house." Identical to when the tabernacle was dedicated.

After he had finished the how, everything was done, all the people went home, God was pleased, Solomon was pleased, all the leaders and people were pleased and joyful of the wondrous things that took place. Can you imagine how they talked about this over and over again in their lives, to their children and grandchildren, saying, 'I was there when God put His presence in the temple. I saw it with my own eyes. Come on, let's go up to Jerusalem and there let's keep the Feasts of God. There let's offer our sacrifices to God. What a wonderful thing that would have been.

When that was all done, v 11: "Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD and the king's house, and he prospered exceedingly in all that came into Solomon's heart to accomplish in the house of the LORD and in his own house. And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night… [this is the second time] …and said to him, 'I have heard your prayer…'" (vs 11-12).

Think about this for just a minute. Think about what an impression that this should have made in Solomon's life; in his heart and mind and his dedication to God. But remember, people are subject to the four points:

1. revival
2. education
3. culture with apathy
4. apostasy

When everybody is in revival, which this is the phase of here, no one has a thought that anything will ever, ever go wrong. Let's see what happens. We will know that during the Millennium there are going to be people who are not going to be able to be saved, because of their choices. Not because of what God has done. Look at all that God did for Solomon.

God said, "…I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place to Myself for a house of sacrifice…. [He again repeats some of the conditions]: …If I shut up the heavens, and there is no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people, if My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land" (vs 12-14). Brethren that is the prayer for the Church of God today. May it be true!

Verse 15: "Now My eyes shall be open, and My ears shall be attentive to the prayer offered in this place, for now I have chosen and sanctified this house so that My name may be there forever. And My eyes and My heart shall be there perpetually. And you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, and will do according to all that I have commanded you, and shall observe My statutes and My ordinances, then I will make the throne of your kingdom sure, as I have covenanted with David your father, saying, 'There shall not fail you a man to be ruler in Israel.' But if… [notice the choices] …you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and if you shall go and serve other gods and worship them…" (vs 15-19). Solomon knew directly—didn't he? From God Himself! Now let's see what he did with it. Solomon knew!

Remember, wherever there is an ifthere's a then.

Verse 20: "Then I will pluck them up by the roots out of My land which I have given them. And this house, which I have sanctified for My name, I will cast out of My sight, and I will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations. And this house, which is exalted, shall be an astonishment to everyone who passes by it, so that they shall be appalled and say, 'Why has the LORD done this to this land and to this house?' And it shall be answered, 'Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold upon other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore, He has brought all this evil upon them.'" (vs 20-22). Did it happen? Yes, it did! Twice!

• once for serving other gods
• twice the second time for rejecting Jesus Christ

• Have all the prophecies concerning what would happen to them occur?
• Were they fulfilled?
• Did it occur where the temple was?

So thorough and complete were the prophecies and the words of God against it, because of sin, that to this day the Jews do not even know where the temple should be built. They think that it is where the Mosque of Omar is. However, that was Fort Antonia during the days of Christ. Since that was Roman property, none of those stones were taken down. But everything south of that was scraped to the bare earth. The Hill of David, where he had his house, was removed and put over into the valley on the west side of where the temple stood.

Think about how God does things. That's why we have the Sabbath Day to remember it every week. That's why we have the Passover and the Holy Days of God, so that we know and understand the plan of God:

• we love God
• we appreciate what He has done
• we are thankful to God

More than just putting His presence in a building, God is dwelling in us with the earnest of our inheritance of eternal life. Think on that! Think how we need to respond to God because of that in everything that we do in our lives.

Solomon had everything, so much gold, so much silver, so much of everything brought to him. The Queen of Sheba came to test him out to see if everything she had heard was true and she saw everything and it took her breath away, took her spirit away. She said, 'Everything I've heard of you, not even the smallest portion of it was told to me. This is so fantastic.' And God fulfilled to the 'nth' degree His promises to Solomon:

• of wisdom
• of knowledge
• of wealth
• of gold
• of silver

And he actually had a trading empire that went around the world. All the kings of the earth came to seek the wisdom of Solomon.

Then he forgot God!As he got older he made wrong choices. He knew better, but he gave in to the pulls of the flesh. Let's see what happened here. Let's see what Solomon did. This is a perpetual example for us to understand in relationship to the Millennial plan of God so that we—in preparing to rule and reign with Christ—do not do those things and make the wrong choices in our lives now. And that we will always be faithful to God!

Here's what happened: He went against everything in the Law of Moses that God told him he should not do. He did not take a scroll and go down to the temple and have the priest bring the scrolls of God, a copy of what was in the sides of the Ark of the Covenant, to make himself his own personal Law of the Lord.

He got lifted up in vanity, power and importance. As we will see tomorrow, he began to experiment in life, trying to find what was it in life that there was when God had already given it to him. He turned his back on God!

1-Kings 11:1: "And King Solomon loved many foreign women, even the daughter of Pharaoh, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, Hittites; of the nations which the LORD had said to the children of Israel, 'You shall not go in to them, and they shall not go in to you; surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.'But Solomon clung to these in love." (vs 1-2). We can add to that the apostasy here: power and sex!

Brethren, I'm here to tell you that's what also took down the Worldwide Church of God: abuse of power, false doctrines and the sins of sex unspeakable!

Verse 3: "And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines. And his wives turned away his heart." Think of that! Understand that!

Why did the curse come to Adam and Eve? Remember what God said. He gave them the commandments and told them to keep them, and guard the Garden of Eden. Why did the curse come upon Adam? Because he listened to the voice of his wife to do evil! If she would have given him good advice, he should listen to it. But he didn't! He ate of the fruit. He saw the whole thing transpire right in front of his eyes. So, God said, 'Cursed shall you be!' That's what happened to Solomon.

Notice what he did to please his wives. Since he's a temple-builder:

• Oh build me an altar for my god.
• Build be a little sanctuary over here for my god.
• How can you do that for these women over here, you married me, you're not fair to me; I want an incense altar over here.
• I want an idol of my god, I use that.

What did he do?

Verse 5: "For Solomon went after Ashtoreth…" That's like saying that one of the ministers of Worldwide Church of God came and fell down before a statue of the virgin Mary.

"…the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites; and Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD…" (vs 5-6)—Who had appeared to Him twice; Who bless him overwhelmingly; and yet, Solomon did not remain faithful.

"…and did not go fully after the LORD like his father David. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill, which is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise he did for all his foreign wives, and burned incense and sacrificed to their gods" (vs 6-8).

What did Paul say about these things that are written in the Law for us? They are written for us as a examples on whom the ends of the earth are coming, that we do not do like they did!

What happened? God scattered the people who wanted to follow Him, and the rest who remained apostatized, completely back into the world! Just as Solomon apostatized into offering sacrifices to these pagan gods.

• they forsook the Passover
• they forsook the Feasts of God
• they forsook the Sabbath
• they forsook the nature of God
  • for Sunday
  • for the trinity
  • for Halloween
  • for Christmas
  • for Easter
  • for New Years

An abomination to God!

We don't know what's going to happen to them, but those were the choices that they made. We've seen it happen in our lifetime; virtually the same thing!

Tomorrow we're going to see how Solomon reasoned himself around being able to do those things. What happened? Maybe that's how some of the people during the Millennium will also reason and find themselves in trouble likewise.

Scriptural References:

1. Isaiah 11:1-10
2. Isaiah 12:1-2, 4-6
3. Isaiah 14:1-5
4. Revelation 20:3
5. Joshua 14:15
6. Joshua 21:44-45
7. Joshua 22:4-5
8. Joshua 23:1, 6-8
9. Judges 2:8-10
10. Judges 21:25
11. 1 Chronicles 28:1-10, 19-20
12. 1 Chronicles 29:1-3
13. 2 Chronicles 1:1-3, 7-13
14. 2 Chronicles 3:1-2, 11-14
15. 2 Chronicles 6:1-3
16. 2 Chronicles 7:1, 11-22
17. 1 Kings 11:1-3, 5-8

Scriptures references, not quoted:

• Isaiah 2
• Malachi 4
• Hebrews 4; 13

Also referenced: Book:
            Gipps Understandable History of the Bible
            by Samuel C. Gipp (online at: seawaves.us

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 7-30-14

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