Feast of Tabernacles 2015—Day 7

Meaning of the Seventh Day of the Feast of Tabernacles

Fred R. Coulter—October 4, 2015

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Greetings, brethren! Welcome to the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles! My, how time flies!

The Bible always shows us that there is a beginning and an ending in the physical things relating to the plan of God. Just think about this: every week has a beginning and ending; the next day is an new beginning, then and ending, etc. Same way with God's plan; there has to come an end to the Millennium! God says that we will reign a thousand years.

We have seen what it's going to be like to live during the Millennium as a physical human being. It's far different from what we have today. No more war; no more major crimes. It's going to really be something! Peace! Prosperity! Goodness! And a great harvest into the Kingdom of God!

Yet, there are still some things of human life and human behavior and what God has given us that we need to examine on this day-seven of the Feast of Tabernacles.

God has given every human being free moral agency:

• we must choose to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and being
• we must choose to obey God

God is not creating robots!

• He's creating sons and daughters!
• He is creating spirit beings that will live forever!

But we start out as temporary human beings so that God will know how we will behave, how we will live. God is not going to have eternity filled with wars, battles and carnality. No, He's not!

God is going to put away Satan the devil, so this day is very important. Let's also understand something: all through the Millennium there will be births, life coming in and there will be free choice. Yet—human nature, even though not as violent as it is today, not as evil as it is today—still nevertheless, free choice is given.

We know that it says in Ecclesiastes, 'Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!' This is going to be the lesson that is going to be learned all during the Millennium.

• even though you have the best of everything
• even though you have God with us
• even though there is a low level of sin in most cases, there's still going to be sin

We're going to see today how God is going to handle that.

Now let's look at human life. The older we get the more we see that this is true. Delores and I have been married 50 years and 6 months. We look back it and it's just kind of like a flash. Well, that's what the Bible says.

Job 8:9: "For we are but of yesterday and know nothing…" Human beings, unless they are taught, know nothing. Once we are taught, what do we really know compared to God?

"…because our days on earth are a shadow. Shall they not teach you, and tell you, and speak words out of their heart?" (vs 9-10). Yes, indeed! That's what we're going to do, we're going to teach them! There's not much to human life, but the potential is fantastic! But without that potential fulfilled, it's gone, over with!

Psalm 144:1: "Blessed is the LORD my Rock, Who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle." They're going to have the battle of overcoming human nature. As we understand how human nature is, once everything is set, new generations coming into it assume that's the way it's always been, but it's not so.

Verse 2: "He is my loving kindness and my fortress, my high tower and my deliverer, my shield and He in Whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me. O LORD, what is man that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You think of him?" (vs 2-3). We start out in the beginning that we're made in the image and likeness of God, and also that we're made a little lower than God. So, God has a great interest in every human being.

Verse 4: "Man is like a breath; his days are like a shadow that passes away." James says that we're just like a 'vapor' (James 4); just like the fog early in the morning. Then the sun comes up and it's gone. Where did it go? That's what human life is like! Let's see what God tells us that our life is like. This will really be interesting, and it is true. You think about it!

This is part of the prophesied message of John the Baptist, Isaiah 40:3: "A voice is calling out in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the LORD…'" Of course, the way of the Lord is going to over all, everywhere during the Millennium.

""…make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough places plain; and the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken'" (vs 3-5). That's something!

This refers to the second coming of Christ, what a thing that is and this is what we're looking forward to: the return of Jesus Christ and the resurrection from the dead.

Verse 6: "A voice says, 'Cry!' And he said, 'What shall I cry?' 'All flesh is grass, and all the beauty of it is as the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass'" (vs 6-7). Stop and think about it, it's true. Everything that we eat comes from the vegetables of the earth: leaves, plants, grass. If you eat meat: What do all the cattle and the other animals that we eat—cattle and sheep, etc.—eat? Grass!

Verse 8: "The grass withers, the flower fades…" We start out youth, strong and vigorous; women beautiful. Then look what happens from start to finish. Quite a thing! Very descriptive!

"…but the Word of our God shall stand forever." This is exactly what we're looking to, the Word of God.

Verse 10: "Behold, the Lord GOD will come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him." Think of all the work that's going to be done that we're going to help Him do during the Millennium. It's fantastic!

Verse 11: "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those with young." This is a tremendous description of human life. Human life during the Millennium: there's going to be births and there's going to be an ending. What will the ending be? We'll look at it today!

Let's see the choices that God is going to set before all people during the Millennium; the same choices that He gave to Israel; the same choices that He gives to the Church. God wants to know what we're going to choose:

• How do we exercise our free moral agency?
• How do we understand?
• How do we know and view God?
• What is life?

God lays it out. Will they be able to reject God if they want to? Of course! That will be rebellion.

Here's a comparison between Moses and Christ; Hebrews 3:6: "But on the other hand, Christ was faithful as the Son over His own house; Whose house we are, if we are truly holding fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm to the end."

Isn't that quite a thing? IF—and there will still be the ifs during the Millennium! That's really something when we understand that.

Verse 7: "For this reason, even as the Holy Spirit says, 'Today, if you will hear His voice.'" We're going to see that they're going to hear the voices of the teachers—and we'll be the teachers, rulers, magistrates, judges, etc.

"…'Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your heart…'" (vs 7-8). That's a choice! Can people harden their heart? Yes, they can! God is not going to take away free moral agency.

"'…as in the rebellion, in the day of temptation in the wilderness'" (v 8). Then you know what happened to the children of Israel, after all that they saw and heard! Think of what they're going to see and hear all during the Millennium compared to what the children of Israel saw and heard when they were on the exodus on the way out of Egypt.

Verse 17: "But with whom was He indignant for forty years? Was it not with those who had sinned…?"Yes! Was repentance available? Yes! But repentance is also a choice. Repentance is also in degree. There is fleshly repentance because you're sorry that you got caught. There is Godly repentance that you abhor yourself, your human nature, and the wrong choices that you have made. All human beings during the Millennium are going to have to come to understand that, as well.

Verse 18: "And to whom did He swear that they would not enter into His rest…" There are going to be some people who are in the Millennium who will not enter into the Kingdom of God.

"…except to those who had disobeyed?" (v 18). We see that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief. Unbelief and disobedience go hand in hand.

Of course, during the Millennium there will be no question as to which day is the Sabbath. On the Sabbath we're going to be teaching, training and giving them the understanding of the Word of God. There will be many miracles that they will see; many miracles that they will experience. That will help a lot of people. But there will be some who will not. At the end of the Millennium there is going to be a change in the attitude of people. The choices will be set before them. What will they choose? We will look at that a little bit later!
Think about this. Let's see with the government of God—Jesus Christ as King, all the saints as rulers and teachers—it's going to be a tremendous thing that's going to take place. The greatest majority of people will undoubtedly follow God's way, especially at the beginning of the Millennium. But you know how human nature is; there are cycles to it. At the end of the Millennium I think we're going to see the greatest case of Laodiceanism in the history of all mankind.

Isaiah 2:2: "And it shall come to pass, in the last days the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow into it. And many people shall go and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. And He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the Law, and the Word of the LORD from Jerusalem" (vs 2-3).

There will be many willing eager and embracing everything; totally dedicating themselves to the whole way of life that God is going to establish during the Kingdom of God. However, as we have seen at different times Gog and Magog, how when you understand Ezek. 38-39 takes place seven years after the Millennium has begun. They come down and want to take over. But God is going to defeat them. Then it says, 'All the nations shall know that I am the Lord!'

Here's what He's going to have to do, v 4: "And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." That's going to be all during the Millennium.

We're going to be doing the teaching; they're going to see us. We can appear to them and we'll show them and teach them God's ways. I wonder how much more is going to be added to the Word of God? I wonder how much more is going to be given to us that has already been recorded by God so we can learn the lessons of humanity down through the ages of man.

Isaiah 30:20: "And though the LORD gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction…" That will be those who have difficulties and need to repent and be restored. There will be sometimes when, for some people, it will be really difficult because they have set their mind. They will be given an opportunity to repent. They will be taught! They will be helped!

"…yet, your teachers shall not be removed into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left" (vs 20-21). Yes, indeed; going to be taught continuously. Just think what the society will be like, and the desire that all human beings still have within them. They want love, peace and happiness, but carnal nature says, 'we want it our way.' During the Millennium it will be God's way!

Verse 23: "Then He shall give the rain for your seed, with which you sow the ground. And the bread of the produce of the earth also shall be fat and plentiful. In that day your cattle shall feed in large pastures. Also the oxen and the young donkeys that plow the ground shall eat clean fodder, which has been winnowed with the shovel and with the fork. And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers, streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall" (vs 23-25). This is when the Millennium starts. There's going to be plenty of everything.

We also know that it's going to be quite a thing. There's going to be such plenty. When there's an abundance of everything all around, just think what's going to happen to human nature. They're going to take it all for granted.

Amos 9:13: "'Behold, the days come,' says the LORD, 'that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed. And the mountains will drop sweet wine, and all the hills will flow with it.'" Then this is going to be talking about how He brought the children of Israel back, planted them in the land and the Millennium goes forward.

Ezekiel 37:21—talks about King David: "And say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and will gather them on every side, and will bring them into their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king over them all. And they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. Nor shall they be defiled with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with all of their transgressions. But I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they shall be to Me for a people, and I will be their God. And David My servant shall be king over them. And there shall be one shepherd to all of them. And they shall walk in My ordinances and obey My laws, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, the land in which your fathers have dwelt. And they shall dwell in it, even they and their children, and their children's children forever…. [on to the end of the Millennium] …And My servant David shall be their ruler forever"'" (vs 21-25).

Verse 26: "Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them…."—because now they will be given an opportunity for salvation. Everyone, all the nations, all people everywhere will be given an opportunity for salvation. But they must choose! God is not going to take away free moral agency from anyone!

"…And I will place them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever. And My tabernacle shall be with them. Yea, I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And the nations shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary shall be in their midst forever" (vs 26-28). That's going to be quite a thing; yes indeed!

Isaiah 65 can have a dual application: to those who live during the Millennium and to those in the Great White Throne Judgment period after the Millennium.

Isaiah 65:13: "Thus the Lord GOD says, 'Behold, My servants will eat, but you will be hungry…. [referring to those who reject God] …Behold, My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, My servants will rejoice, but you will be ashamed. Behold, My servants will sing for joy of heart, but you will cry for sorrow of heart, and will howl for vexation of spirit'" (vs 13-14). That's what's going to happen to all the people who reject God.

Verse 15: "And you will leave your name for a curse to My elect; for the Lord GOD will slay you, and call His servants by another name. He who blesses himself in the earth shall bless himself by the God of Truth. And he who swears in the earth will swear by the God of Truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hidden from My eyes, for behold…" (vs 15-17).

This is what God is going to do at the beginning of the Millennium. When we read the book of Revelation and see all the things that are going to take place, this earth is going to be a total wreck! It's going to have to be rebuilt and rehabilitated.

"…I create new heavens and a new earth…." (v 17).That is for the Millennium; not the new heaven and the new earth that comes in Rev. 21-22. This is renewing the heavens and earth for the Millennium, because everything is going to be out of kilter. It says that the earth is going to be to and fro and everything will be upside down. God is going to straighten it out and re-create the heaven and the earth; the heaven around the earth.

"…And the former things will not be remembered, nor come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and I will joy in My people…" (vs 17-19).

Jerusalem on the earth is going to be quite a fantastic thing! It's not going to be the temple in Ezekiel 40-48. That's the second temple. What is going to be during the Millennium will be entirely different. It's going to be similar, only on a vast scale. This is going to be always there. What a wonderful thing this is going to be.

Remember, one of the earthquakes is going to raise up the whole mountains around Jerusalem so the government of God will be over all. On the top of this great mountain—remember it talks about the mountain of the Lord—there will be a great tabernacle.

Isaiah 4:5: "And the LORD will create over every dwelling place of Mount Zion…"—where the temple was; that's where this will be, only expanded out. There is much more work to do during the Millennium than there was in just governing Israel in the days when the temple stood.

"…and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory shall be a canopy"—for the great glory of God! That's what the temple is going to be like.

Sidebar: With Christ and the saints ruling on the earth, will there be any need for sacrifices? No!

Verse 6: "And there shall be a tabernacle for shade by day from the heat, and for refuge, and for shelter from storm and rain."

Think about how everything on earth is going to be so peaceful and good. What's going to happen to the people? They'll be born into a situation where there is joy, peace, love and plenty! They will lack nothing!

Isaiah 65:19: "I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and I will joy in My people; and the voice of weeping will no more be heard in her, nor the voice of crying."

Now we come to a couple of verses that we need to understand, and let's apply other Scriptures to understand how this will work. There is still going to be births and deaths. Ecclesiastes says, 'there is time to be born and a time to die.'

• How long will people live?
• What happens if they're righteous?
• What happens if they are not righteous?
• What happens if they choose to go their own way?

There will be those who will do it! Even though Satan has been removed, even though everything is near perfection on the earth—I say near perfection, physically—because things physical can never be perfect, only the spiritual things. That's why in order for us to live forever we have to be spirit beings. But today, and it will be the same then:

• we have to build the character
• we have to choose to love God
• we have to choose to obey Him
• we have to choose to overcome
• we have to choose to have our mind cleansed and washed with the Word of God

It will be the same what for them, although most of them will choose what is right.

Verse 20: "There will not be an infant who lives but a few days… [no premature deaths] …nor an old man that has not filled his days…" What does it mean to fill the days? It's showing here that:

• there's going to be birth
• there's going to be life
• there's going to be living
• there's going to be aging

All of that is with the physical people who we'll be ruling over and teaching.

"…for the child will die a hundred years old; but the sinner who is a hundred years old shall be accursed" (v 20).

Let's take that and look at some things and ask: What about human life? "…the child will die a hundred years old…" meaning it lives a full life.

Let's see something that God has established and ordained, and it's still going to be functioning no matter what, because the Word of God is true and must be carried out.

Let's see what Heb. 9 says about human life. Also remember that for us who are baptized now, we have died a symbolic death, and after that symbolic death judgment is upon us: judgment is upon the house of God, and if the righteous be saved with difficulty, what happens to the ungodly and sinner? That will still apply during the Millennium!

Hebrews 9:27: "And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die…" How did that happen? Because of the sin of Adam and Eve!

Romans 5:12: "Therefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and by means of sin came death; and in this way death passed into all mankind…" that's how we inherited the law of sin and death.

Though human nature will be modified somewhat, the law of sin and death will not be removed from physical human beings. That is only removed when they become spirit beings.

Hebrews 9:27: "And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this, the judgment." Everyone is under judgment! God is Judge of the whole world; Judge of every human being. "…after this, the judgment."

• What will the judgment be?
• Unto life?

or

• Unto death?

If it is unto life, let's see something in 1-Thess. 4 very important concerning it. We can apply this to those who grow up in the Millennium, live their life and come to the end of a hundred years. Why would they die and be put in the tomb? Yet, they have to die! What will that be? We will see that here we have something where human being do not die a physical death and are buried, but are changed from flesh to spirit!

1-Thessalonians 4:15: "For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall in no wise precede those who have fallen asleep… [those who are dead in the grave] …because the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first" (vs 15-16).

• they are transformed into spirit beings
• they are given a spirit mind
• they are given a spirit body
• they died and were put into the grave
• they are resurrected from the dead

Now then, when Christ returns what happens to those who have been faithful but have not lived long enough to die? It says that they must die once. So, let's see if we can figure out what happens.

At this time, Paul thought that he would still be alive at the return of Jesus Christ. Remember, this was one of the first epistles that he wrote, actually the first one, in 52A.D. they learned a lot of things from 52A.D. until the death of Paul. One of the major things they learned was that the Kingdom of God is not coming back right away! Here we are 2,000 years later and it still isn't here.

Verse 17: "Then we who are alive and remain… [because all the dead shall be raised first] …shall be caught up together with them in the clouds for the meeting with the Lord in the air; and so shall we always be with the Lord."

That means that they have been transformed from flesh to spirit and if they are transformed that means there has to be an instantaneous death and an instantaneous resurrection to spirit life. It says that it's 'given to all men once to die.' We've already had our judgment.

We will see how that applies to people for the Last Great Day tomorrow. There is another application of that. Now let's see what Paul said concerning that; same thing with the resurrection. Paul talks about death, the resurrection and also instantaneous change. He speaks of the same thing that he did in 1-Thess. 4:

1-Corinthians 15:44: "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body; accordingly, it is written, 'The first man, Adam, became a living soul; the last Adam became an ever-living Spirit'" (vs 44-45). How? By the resurrection from the dead!

Verse 46: "However, the spiritual was not first, but the natural—then the spiritual."

We have to develop the character of God—love, obedience, everything, with the spiritual character of God, the Spirit of God—now. The world has not been given that opportunity. They may be 'religious'; they may be nice people in this society; but that doesn't mean that they are headed for eternal life. Only those who repent, receive the Spirit of God, faithfully grow and overcome to the end, the end of life or this age and the return of Christ.

Verse 47: "The first man is of the earth—made of dust. The second Man is the Lord from heaven. As is the one made of dust, so also are all those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly One, so also are all those who are heavenly" (vs 47-48). He's showing that there is a change, a transformation.

Verse 49: "And as we have borne the image of the one made of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly One. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption" (vs 49-50). As long as there is death, there is corruption.

Verse 51: "Behold, I show you a mystery…" We can understand that mystery even a little more, but exactly how God is going to do that is quite a thing. That's one of the mysteries of God that we will experience. After we experience that mystery, then God will tell us how He did it.
"…we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed" (v 51). In that change, since flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, and all flesh/men must die first, notice:

Verse 52: "In an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruptibility, and this mortal must put on immortality. Now, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruptibility, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory'" (vs 52-54).

That also shows that when we are changed, if we're still alive, there's an instantaneous death and with the receiving of eternal life, "…Death is swallowed up in victory." I hope we all understand that.

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There are some other questions that we need to answer. We need to find out how that fits in with the end of the Millennium and what is going to happen when Satan is loosed at the end of the Millennium.

Isaiah 65:20: "There will not be an infant who lives but a few days, nor an old man that has not filled his days, for the child will die a hundred years old; but the sinner who is a hundred years old shall be accursed."

So, apparently, at a hundred years old the righteous—and I imagine that we will have this regularly in all the Churches—whenever they reach a hundred years old and they're righteous, there's going to be a transformation Sabbath. They're going to be changed from flesh to spirit.

Everybody in the congregation is going to see this, the young and the old. This is going to be very convincing. There will be not too many people who will reject the salvation of God. 'Look, mommy, what happened to him; look what happened to grandma.' That gives them incentive to do what God wants them to do. Most likely nearly everyone is going to be saved.

However, remember human nature! "…but the sinner who is a hundred years old shall be accursed" (v 20). What does that mean? If they are accursed and they die at 100-years-old, there is no more opportunity for eternal life. The accursed means that they will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. Have to be!

For those who are righteous, v 21: "And they will build houses and live in them; and they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They will not build, and another live in them; they will not plant, and another eat; for like the days of a tree are so will be the days of My people, and My elect will long enjoy the work of their hands" (vs 21-22)—100 years!

The Millennium is a thousand years. Remember that the sinner will die accursed. How does that work at the end of the Millennium when there's not enough time for them to live a hundred years and die? For those who rebel, what is going to happen to them?

The righteous, obviously, will be changed, and there probably will be some crossover for the younger ones from the end of the Millennium to the beginning of the 100-year period. Most likely, but don't know that for sure. If they're going to live to be 100-years-old and they're righteous, there's no need for them to die sooner. There will be a need for them to die instantly when they are changed from flesh to spirit.

People have asked: Why is Satan bound for a thousand years?

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…" So, something different is going to happen at the end of the Millennium.

• What is that?
• Why is Satan loosed out of his prison?
• What will be accomplished with that?

"…and after that it is ordained that he be loosed for a short time" (v 3).

Verse 7: "Now, when the thousand years have been completed, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison; and he shall go out to deceive the nations that are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, of whom the number is as the sand of the sea, to gather them together for war" (vs 7-8).

Isn't that something? No war all during the thousand years, and the instant that Satan the devil is loosed they prepare for war! Who is behind all the wars? Satan the devil, and then God counteracting it; that is for today.

Let's talk about Gog and Magog for just a little bit. It says, he [Satan] "…shall go out to deceive the nations that are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog…" We have two choices of what this meaning is:

• If it is the meaning of the actual physical descendants of Gog and Magog and they are not offered an opportunity for salvation during the Millennium, then God is a respecter of persons!

God is not a respecter of persons!

When we talk about Israel, we can talk about the people: O house of Israel; that's the people. We can talk about Israel meaning the geographical location of Israel or the land of Israel. That doesn't include the people. Is there still the land in the Middle East that God gave to Israel originally that is now occupied by other nations? Yes!

• How did the other nations get to a geographical location—the four corners of the earth is a geographical location—to the geographical location of Gog and Magog? Why would there be so many there?

Remember this is at the end of the Millennium.

What happens when people sin? Let's come back to the beginning and let's see what God does for sinners who have not repented—but maybe perhaps would repent, some would. It's not recorded that Adam and Eve repented, but we don't know. It's possible, but we're not told.

When they were first created they lived together with God in the Garden of Eden. When they sinned He cast them out of the Garden of Eden. What is a casting out of the Garden of Eden? What could we call that? Since they were removed and couldn't get back into the Garden of Eden, that is an exile! For Adam and Eve, they could come before God at the east gate of the Garden of Eden, but they couldn't go inside. The cherubim were there protecting the way of the Tree of Life and the Garden of Eden. But they could meet with God and talk with God. He could instruct them.

Let's look at the case of Cain. He could come before God, too, up to a certain point. You know the account of the offering of Abel and Cain, etc. Cain did not bring an offering according to the will of God, but he brought what he thought would be right. Cain was jealous of his brother Abel because Abel was righteous and Cain was wicked. Then Cain murdered Abel. Let's see what happened after Cain murdered Abel.

Genesis 4:9: "And the LORD said unto Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?' And he said, 'I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?' And He said, 'What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries to Me from the ground'" (vs 9-10). God knows!

• think about all the wars
• think about all the deaths

Where does God lay that? Rev. 18 says that goes to Babylon the Great, and though it started on the other side of the Flood, yet, Satan's world was also on this side of the Flood before it occurred! In a sense the beast—which the serpent is—existed at this time.

Let's see what happened to Cain because God did not kill him. Yet, if you murder a man you're to be executed. Well, if God would have done that then, there wouldn't have been enough people. So, God did something else.

Verse 11: "'And now you are cursed from the earth, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you, and you shall be a wanderer and a fugitive upon the earth.' And Cain said to the LORD, 'My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, You have driven me out from the face of the earth today…'" (vs 11-14). Away from God and the entrance of the Garden of Eden.

"'…and I shall be hidden from Your face…. [cut off from God completely] …And I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth, and it shall be that anyone who finds me shall kill me'" (v 14).

So, Cain was exiled to set him apart—and no one knows what the mark of Cain really was, but it was visible—v 15: "And the LORD said to him, 'Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.' And the LORD set a mark upon Cain so that anyone who found him should not kill him. And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and lived in the land of Nod, to the east of Eden" (vs 15-16).

He had a wife because Adam and Eve had sons and daughters, so there were plenty around to begin the human race. So, Cain was exiled because of his sin.

What is God going to do with the people at the end of the Millennium because of their sins, yet, they can't live a hundred years to be accursed? Let's see what God did to Israel and later to Judah. He exiled them! He sent them off into captivity!

God repeatedly told the children of Israel in every generation; they were taught the laws and commandments of God. But they wanted to go their own way. After they had sinned so grievously, the only thing that God could do was to removed them out of His sight or exile them.

2-Kings 17:9: "Now, the children of Israel secretly did things that were not right against the LORD their God. And they built high places in all their cities for themselves from the Watch Tower to the fortified city. And they set up images and groves for themselves in every high hill, and under every green tree. And they burned incense in all the high places, like the nations whom the LORD had removed from before them…" (vs 9-11). Did God get rid of the Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites and so forth? Yes! But not all of them, because the children of Israel didn't do what God said.

In the Millennium, those who sinned are going to be removed. Yes, they'll have an opportunity to repent, but if they don't repent… Cain didn't repent, the children of Israel didn't repent. Oh, they may feel sorry for what's coming upon them, but they didn't repent.

"…and they practiced evil things to provoke the LORD to anger, for they served the idols of which the LORD had said to them, 'You shall not do this thing.' And the LORD testified against Israel and against Judah, by all the prophets, by all the seers, saying, 'Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets'" (vs 11-13).

• How are we going to teach them? This is the way to walk in it, don't go to the right hand or the left hand!
• What if they refuse?
• What if they sin?

It says that the sinner at a hundred years old will be accursed. It could very well be that Gog and Magog—in the four corners—is a place of exile all through the Millennium, because God is not going to have sinful people living among His people.

There also may be for those who are temporarily stubborn and need to come to themselves a separation just like there was a separation for the clean and unclean because of disease. Here there could be a place of separation for the sinners that have not yet repented. But they haven't committed the unpardonable sin.

Could there be other places of exile for the unclean, as it were, because of their sin to be rehabilitated and brought back because of repentance? Very likely so, because God always honors Godly repentance! Of course, we will know their thoughts. God will know their thoughts and we will be delegated the authority to know their thoughts whether they repent or not. If they don't repent, send them off out to the area of Gog and Magog.

It could very well be that that area of Gog and Magog is going to be used as a place of exile. They'll die out there and be buried out there.

Verse 14: "Nevertheless, they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like the neck of their fathers who did not believe in the LORD their God. And they rejected His statutes and His covenant, which He made with their fathers, and His warnings that He testified against them. And they went after vanity, and became vain, and went after the nations around them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them not to do like them. And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God and made molten images, two calves for themselves…." (vs 14-16).

Look at what God had to do because of that. All of this is by choice! In the Millennium they will have the Holy Spirit offered to them. But still, they have to choose!

"…And they made a grove, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire. And they used divination and sorceries, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger. So, the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of His sight; not one was left, only the tribe of Judah by itself" (vs 16-18). And Judah did not learn from that.

That's how powerful free choice is. They will be exiled, put out there and be in a situation where they have committed the unpardonable sin. When they die, they will be buried, and I don't know how many will be out there. We don't know what is going to happen, but we know this for sure: Where the righteous people are there are not going to be sinners living among them! They either repent and they are rehabilitated and go forward, or they are rejected.

Let's see that principle in 1-John 5; human nature is still going to be the same, slightly changed, but it's still going to be the same.

• people will sin
• people have to make choices
• people have to understand the way of God
• people have to learn the way of God

They will be taught the way of God. The knowledge of God is going to cover the earth as the seas cover the earth. There will be no excuse. When they sin, they'll either repent or they'll be given a space of time to repent, and if they don't repent then they will be shipped off to Gog and Magog in exile. They're not going to be around where the righteous people are.

Let's see the category of sins, 1-John 5:16: "If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin that is not unto death, he shall ask, and He will give him life for those who do not sin unto death…." Not unto death means it's a sin that can be repented of. We're going to have to make the judgments. We're going to have to decide. We will be taught of God how to do this, because we must make the righteous judgments and we must decide because God will delegate that to us to do, and then it will be verified by God. Here they can repent and come back into the community. "…He will give him life for those who do not sin unto death…."

"…There is a sin unto death concerning that sin …" (v 16)—the unpardonable sin, the Lake of Fire. Remember, the sinners have to die once and then the Lake of Fire. We will see how letting Satan out of his prison to help accomplish this will work.

"…I do not say that he should make any supplication to God. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death" (vs 16-17). It will be the same there; they won't be able to practice sin.

If they have the Spirit of God they can repent. The Spirit of God leads us to repentance. It always convicts us in conscience, but we can harden our heart and cut that off and not let God's Spirit convict us of sin. That then begins to constitute the unpardonable sin. You can't have those sinners living among the righteous people. So, you exile them into Gog and Magog—the geographical area.

Let's see what will happen. Rev. 20 tells us about Satan's fate, so we'll touch on the again, so that everyone understands what is going to happen to him.

Revelation 20:7: "Now, when the thousand years have been completed, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison." He has one mission: gather all these people together who have not repented and who have not had a chance to die because of their sins. They haven't lived a hundred years, and now their deaths will be in mass, which will be their first death.

Verse 8: "And he shall go out to deceive the nations that are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, of whom the number is as the sand of the sea, to gather them together for war." I wonder what it's going to be like when Satan is let out of there and he goes up to Gog and Magog and does all of these false miracles, and of course, the demons are there with him, as well.

Whoa! They're going to be convinced that they are right! Satan is going to tell them that 'this God down in Jerusalem put me in prison for a thousand years, but now I'm out and they are not armed, so let us get together and build some weapons, and let's work out a strategy to go down and conquer Jerusalem. We will control! We will rule!' Has that not always been Satan's desire from the time that he sinned? Yes, indeed! Here's what happens; this is going to be a short venture. This will not last long.

Verse 9: "Then I saw them go up upon the breadth of the earth and encircle the camp of the saints, and the beloved city; and fire came down from God out of heaven and consumed them." They're all dead! Their first death! They're going to await another fiery death, the second death. All the incorrigible must die twice!

Before the Last Great Day fulfillment can take place, the Great White Throne Judgment, Satan must be put away forever! Nowhere, nowhere does it say in the Bible that Satan will be converted to human flesh and blood and destroyed! It doesn't say that! That is a misinterpretation and a false understanding.

Do you think that God would give that privilege to the one who hatefully rebelled directly in the face of God? to try and take over God's position? a spirit being? NO! He's going to let him be tormented forever and ever and ever, so that all of us in the Kingdom of God, as spirit beings, will understand never again will there be rebellion against God under any circumstances. One more thing to add here, Satan must be put away before the Great White Throne Judgment.

Verse 10: "And the Devil, who deceived them, was cast into the Lake of Fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet had been cast… [that took place at the beginning of the Millennium, but before it] …and they… it is plural in the Greek and this has to include]: …Satan and the demons…"Flesh and blood can't be tormented forever and ever in fire. That's an impossibility, so the they must refer to Satan and the demons.

"…shall be tormented day and night into the ages of eternity" (v 10).

Let's see something very important here. We know that the Lake of Fire, when the second death is applied to all the incorrigible wicked, is going to envelop the earth and then the new earth will be renewed on the old earth, being the new heavens and the new earth. Just like our physical bodies, the old body becomes a new body. Likewise, the earth—the old earth—will become the new earth. Satan is going to be removed. He will have no part after he's been cast into the Lake of Fire.

In the book of Jude we're going to learn something very important concerning the fate of Satan and the demons.

• Has Satan used human beings down through time? Yes, he did!
• Did Satan possess Judas Iscariot and leave him after he betrayed Jesus Christ? Yes, he did!
• Did Satan still exist after that? Yes, he did!
• Does Satan still exist today? Yes, he does!

When Satan possessed the king of Tyre, when the king was dead, Satan did not die with him! Remember Satan possession the king of Tyre? When was that? That was centuries before Christ's first coming! So, the king of Tyre died but Satan moved on, just like he always has. He is a spirit being and cannot die. God is not going to change him into a human being to eliminate him. That will never happen!

Jude 11: "Woe to them! For they have walked in the way of Cain; and for gain, they have wholly given themselves up to Balaam's delusion, and haveperished in the rebellion of Korah. These are subversive stains in your love feasts… [people being led by Satan the devil] …feasting in person together with you; fearlessly they are feeding themselves. They are clouds without water, being driven by the winds; trees of late autumn, without any fruit, uprooted, twice dead" (vs 11-12). These are people who have committed the unpardonable sin!

• Who inspires that?
• Who leads them to do that?
• Satan the devil!

Verse 13: "Raging waves of the sea, casting up like foam their own ignominious shame… [Jude labels them for what they are; with the spirit beings behind them, Satan the devil]: …wandering stars…" Stars are angels, wandering means that they've gone out of the way; they have rebelled against God.

"…for whom has been reserved the blackest darkness forever!" (v 13). After the Lake of Fire has gone out, they will be in a place somewhere in the universe, in "…the blackest darkness forever!" into the ages of eternity!

Let's see how Peter writes of this, because Satan is not going to be around when the Great White Throne Judgment comes and the second resurrection takes place.

• Don't you think that living one life under Satan the devil is enough? But of course!
• Did the people during the Millennium live without Satan the devil around? Yes!

The same opportunity is going to be given to those, as we will see tomorrow (the Last Great Day), who are in the second resurrection. Satan won't be around! Satan will be removed! The demons will be removed!

2-Peter 2:11: "Whereas, angels, who are greater in strength and power, do not bring a railing condemnation against them before the Lord. But these—as irrational brute beasts, born to be caught and destroyed—blaspheme those things of which they are ignorant, and shall be utterly destroyed in their own corruption. They are bringing upon themselves the reward of unrighteousness, while finding pleasure in satisfying their lustful desires day-by-day. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their own deceptions, while feasting together with you" (vs 11-13).

• Isn't that how churches are taken down? Yes, indeed!
• Did this not happen with Churches of God? Without a question!

Verse 14: "Having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, they are engaged in seducing unstable souls, having a heart trained in lustful cravings—cursed children… [rebellious children] …who have abandoned the straight way. They have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the reward of wickedness. But he received a rebuke for his own transgression; the dumb donkey, speaking in a man's voice, restrained the madness of the prophet. These false prophets…" (vs 14-17). What is behind false prophets? False or demon spirits (1-John 4)!

Verse 17: "These false prophets are fountains without water, clouds driven by a storm, for whom is reserved the blackest of darkness forever." That is the demon spirits behind them will be bound in the darkest blackness forever!

Never again will there be rebellion in the Kingdom of God. That is Satan's fate! That also has its meaning in the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Tomorrow we will have the eighth day, the Last Great Day. This will be the magnificent finale in the plan of God! We likewise will have part in it!

Scriptural references:

• Job 8:9-10
• Psalm 144:1-4
• Isaiah 40:3-8, 10-11
• Hebrews 3:6-8, 17-18
• Isaiah 2:2-4
• Isaiah 30:20-21, 23
• Amos 9:13
• Ezekiel 37:21-28
• Isaiah 65:13-19
• Isaiah 4:5-6
• Isaiah 65:19
• Hebrews 9:27
• Romans 5:12
• Hebrews 9:27
• 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17
• 1 Corinthians 15:44-54
• Isaiah 65:20-22
• Revelation 20:3, 7-8
• Genesis 4:9-16
• 2 Kings 17:9-18
• 1 John 5:16-17
• Revelation 20:7-10
• Jude 11-13
• 2 Peter 2:11-17

Scripture referenced, not quoted:

• James 4
• Ezekiel 38; 39
• Revelation 21; 22
• Ezekiel 40-48
• Revelation 18
• 1 John 4

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 8/9/15

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