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Come and see the works of God, the hope of all the earth
Fred R. Coulter—October 13, 2019
Greetings, brethren! Welcome to the Feast of Tabernacles! Here we are another year, and we're closer to the Kingdom. Every time we think we're getting close to the Kingdom then it's a little further away.
The reason being is that God has a time schedule that He alone is keeping track of. Remember that in all circumstances, God always honors repentance! So, how far? how near? The only think we can say is that we're closer than ever before! But how soon will it be? We're not told!
The most important thing concerning the Feast of Tabernacles for us is that we're all here gathered together and many who are only able to come to the Feast of Tabernacles because there are no fellowship groups where they are, so please spend a lot of time fellowshipping with each other. Be with those who don't have quite a enough, and help them in their circumstances. Let it be a wonderful, happy, joyous Feast so we can:
- understand our calling
- understand God's plan
- help prepare for the coming Kingdom of God as never before
This Feast of Tabernacles, as well as all Feasts, is a great Feast unto God. In participating in it and assembling together in it, each time it is a special and wonderful and tremendous time for each of us as brethren and elders to come together and:
- rejoice in God's calling
- rejoice in God's plan
- rejoice in God calling us to the first resurrection
- having a part in saving the world
All of that depends on the return of Jesus Christ!
Since He is the King of the Kingdom, let's see what the Bible says about that.
The book of Isaiah is written exactly as it says in Isa. 28, 'line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little' and that's how we understand. Now, here's one verse that refers to the Millennium and the reign of Jesus Christ! It's right in the middle of the situation with the possible place of safety in Moab. That's something! You will see this throughout the book of Isaiah.
If there's any one book that you cannot read in chronological order, it's the book of Isaiah.
Isaiah 16:5: "And in mercy the throne shall be established…" Christ is coming, He's going to setup His throne, and it's going to be greater Jerusalem.
We know how that's going to come about, because when Christ steps on the Mt. of Olives it's going to rise up and split in two. Then we know from Isa. 4 that a big tabernacle will be there. Not some scroungy little temple. But a big tabernacle! It's always going to have the cloud by day and the fire by night. No mistake about it!
It will be established in righteousness, because all are going to keep the commandments of God, the love of God and the Truth of God. There will be some renegades as they come along, but we will see how we will handle those as we get into the Feast.
"…and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David…" (v 5). Why is called the tabernacle of David? Because for the original temple, the plans were given to David, and they came directly from God! Solomon used those plans to build the temple.
"…judging and seeking justice, and speeding the cause of righteousness" (v 5). It's going to go around the whole world! Won't happen all at once, as we will see as we continue into the Feast of Tabernacles.
Now let's see that not only is Christ going to be King and sit on the Throne of David, but also we will all be there, all who are in the first resurrection.
Revelation 20:6: "Blessed and Holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection…" That's giving God's attributes to the sons of God.
"…over these the second death has no power…." (v 6). That's quite a thing to understand. We will be living forever!
Our whole mind, whole body and whole character will be transformed into spirit. All the weakness of the flesh, all the sins within and temptations without will be gone! That's what we want!
"…But they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years" (v 6).
That's going to be quite a thing! Think about that! God is giving to those in the first resurrection the most wonderful opportunities, and the best jobs possible to help save the world! That's why we're called to this.
At that time, since death has no power over us, we will truly be the sons and daughters of God. We will be spirit beings. The Apostle Peter foretold this in 2-Peter 1.
Let's see what lies ahead of us as pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles. In order to be there, we've got to all be spirit beings.
2-Peter 1:2: "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."
The Bible is written in such a way that it is layered with meaning and understanding. That's why when you study and restudy and go back over the Scriptures, you learn new things from what you've already studied before. The reason is because of all your studying up to that time, to go back to it you have all of that knowledge, as well. That way you're able to discern more things out of what you've already studied.
Jesus said that 'the Word of God is Spirit and Truth. Spirit means that there are many layers of understanding in many Scriptures, while some are simple and straightforward.
Verse 3: "According as His Divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and Godliness…" That in this life now:
- how to live
- how to grow
- how to change
- how to overcome
"…through the knowledge of Him Who called us by His own glory and virtue" (v 3).
Remember that the Father draws us (John 6:44). Jesus said, 'None can come to the Father except through Me.' So, it's a joint action of what God is doing.
The whole purpose of the Feast of Tabernacles is for all the sons and daughters of God to be working and ruling and reigning with Jesus Christ to bring salvation to the world.
- to stop all wars
- to stop all crime
- to stop all things of the insanity of human nature
That's going to be a tremendous job for us to do!
Verse 4: "Through which He has given to us the greatest and most precious promises… [not just great, not just good, not just thrilling] …that through these you may become partakers of the Divine nature…"
Today we're all partakers of human nature; we have and earnest, a down payment of that Divine nature. But we have to grow and develop in character. That's one of the reasons that we keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
- we come together
- we love each other
- we serve each other
- we worship God
- we have more understanding in what God has for us in future
Every year we have new things to understand!
"….having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (v 4). Then Peter gives what we need to do in order to fulfill that.
Now let's see that there are some Psalms looking at this and how great it's going to be for the world, and how true it's going to be when it happens. Look at how the world has been. Every year, just like Jesus said in Matt. 24, 'As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days in the coming of the Son of man, and lawlessness shall be multiplied!'
Just think! We're going to be the ones with Christ to end that! And the one who causes it all—Satan the devil—is going to bound for a thousand years.
Psalm 28:6: "Blessed is the LORD because He has heard the voice of my supplications."
The way that we attain to this is with prayer, study and living God's way! That is by keeping the Sabbath, by directing our lives according to the commandments of God, by the Passover and the Holy Days. All of these things are always under attack by Satan the devil! But God hears!
Here's how we attain, v 7: "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him…"
Doesn't that remind you of the greatest commandment of loving God with all your heart, mind, soul and being? All of that comes with the Spirit of God!
"…and I am helped…." (v 7). You are!
- God helps you to see your human nature
- God helps you to repent
- God helps you to overcome
- God helps you by writing His Laws and commandments in your heart and mind
That's how you direct your life!
"…Therefore, my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him" (v 7). Think about what it's going to be like to really sing; no more 'joyful noises' it will be real singing.
Verse 8: "The LORD is their strength, and He is the saving strength of His anointed…. [Christ when He was on the earth] …Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever" (vs 8-9).
God starts out by saving Israel and Judah first! There it is, that's all part of it right there.
Of course, as you know, through the book of Isaiah and the book of Psalms, there is more concerning the Kingdom of God and telling all about it:
- what it's going to be
- how it's going to be
- whose going to be there
- what's going to be done
All of that is augmented by the New Testament.
Psalm 65:4: "Blessed is the one whom You choose…" You're called because you're the called, the chosen and the faithful! Even though you have your sins and problems, even though I have my sins and problems, through daily prayer and repentance, we're overcoming. But remember, we are here because the Father has chosen us! He's chosen us for the greatest work: to save all humanity with Christ!
"…and cause to come near You…" (v 4)—through prayer! Not only near God, but within us, the earnest of the Spirit!
"…that he may dwell in Your courts; we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, even Your Holy temple. By awesome works in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation; You are the hope of all the ends of the earth…" (vs 4-5).
If you have a globe look at it, and just think that there is not going to be one place on earth where the knowledge of God is not going to be!
- the Truth of God is going to be kept
- the Sabbath will be kept (Isa. 66)
- from week to week
- from month to month
- from year to year
All down through the Millennium! As we go down through the Millennium, it will get better and better and better.
Then when it reaches a certain point, we're going to see that there's still enough human nature to cause some problems, so we'll see how we're going to handle that.
"…You are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of those of the distant sea" (v 5).
Psalm 66:1: "Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth." Remember that it talks about how trees sing! What's it going to be with all the animals? We know that they're all going to be changed, we'll see that when we get into the meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Verse 2: "Sing forth the honor of His name; make His praise glorious. Say to God, 'How awesome are Your works!….'" (vs 2-3). Think about how that is going to be!
- the works of conversion with the people
- the works of rebuilding the earth
No more war! Yet, there may be some sorrow. There will be very few sinners, but they'll be taken care of.
"…Through the greatness of Your power, Your enemies submit themselves in obedience to You…. [that's what Christ is going to do; they will submit] …All the earth shall worship You and shall sing praises to You; they shall sing praises to Your name.' Selah" (vs 3-4).
Think about what this next verse says. When I read this I think about being transported in the air and looking down on the earth and seeing all the happy people, all of their homes, all of their children and everything that is going on. All the animals and livestock that they have. How wonderful the whole world is going to be.
Verse 5: "Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men." Yes, indeed, that's sure true!
That's all a part of what the Millennium is going to be like, and all a part of what our work will be like. Think about this for the whole earth. Think about this as a Sabbath prayer, and as the Sabbath comes to the people around the world:
Psalm 67:1: "May God be gracious to us, and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us. Selah…. [stop and think about it] …So that Your way may be known on earth… [it's not known, but it will be then] …Your salvation among all nations" (vs 1-2). That's going to be a great and fantastic blessing!
Verse 3: "Let the people praise You, O God; let all the people praise You."
Think about what it's going to be every Sabbath! I think we're going to have hymns and music and things that is going to put to shame everything that we have today.
Verse 4: "O let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You shall judge the people righteously and govern the nations upon earth. Selah." All the nations!
Think how many people it's going to take to do that! We are in the first resurrection, going to be, and this is going to be our job. That means we have a lot of things to learn after we're resurrected and are spirit being so we know what we're doing.
Verse 5: "Let the people praise You, O God; let all the people praise You. The earth shall yield its increase…"
Think about what that's going to be. And every seven years we're going to have a land sabbath and we're going to keep the Jubilee, which will be fantastic. What a time that will be! Quite a thing!
"…and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him" (vs 6-7). That's a wonderful Psalm and telling us exactly what God is going to do!
Ephesians is one of the most inspiring epistles in the New Testament. But I want you to stop and think about it. How many people in the world even have a clue as to what God is doing.
Most of Protestantism and Catholicism believe that they're going to heaven. No, that's not true! God is going to make things on the earth the way that they should be. Eventually, with a new heaven and new earth coming! and New Jerusalem! We're getting a little bit ahead of ourselves!
There are two chapters in the book of Ephesians that are really tremendous and inspiring for us to know.
- we're called to the first resurrection
- we are the firstfruits
- we are going rule and reign with Christ, exactly as He said
It's going to be exactly as it has been prophesied in the Bible! This is a tremendous and wonderful thing. Especially when you understand that the plan of the Gospel was already established before the ages of time!
So, here we are, this plan hidden from the world, but revealed in the Bible to His people. Given to us so that we can know, that in this evil and terrible world we're living in, that we have hope, strength, understanding, peace, knowledge and realize that we're part of the solution. You can surely look around the world today and understand that no man knows how to do hardly anything right.
Remember that Paul wrote this while he was in prison in Rome, and sometimes when you're going through a difficult trial and you get through it, you have an inspiration and a stronger faith and love because of your crying out to God. I'm sure that's what happened to the Apostle Paul here, because we will see that at that time God gave a special revelation to all the apostles about what it's going to be like when Christ returns. Also, part of that revelation was that Christ was not coming any time soon in their day.
Ephesians 1:1: "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God… [he certainly had a different will when it was his own will] …to the saints who are in Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus." That's going out into all time! That's to us today and all the faithful down through the ages!
Here's what God wants with us, v 2: Grace…" And grace upon grace means our direct relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ through prayer, study, and the Holy Spirit!
Verse 2: "Grace and peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…. [then a blessing comes] …Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly things with Christ" (vs 2-3)—not yet attained! But as good as done if we're faithful!
Verse 4: "According as He has personally chosen us for Himself…"
What was the criteria that God used to personally choose the ones that He wants in the Kingdom?
- repentance
- desire of God
- love and obedience
Those who will do that and use the Spirit of God, because God said that in His plan that those are the ones He's going to choose, and that was before the ages of time. But since there's free moral agency, He has to wait and see what each one is going to do.
"…before the foundation of the world… [His plan was set and He's choosing to carry that out; the criteria that God had chosen for Himself] …in order that we might be Holy and blameless before Him in love" (v 4).
That's the whole thing, the love of God; God is love! We need to love each other, and here at this Feast of Tabernacles, let's have that love and get along with each other. If you have any difficulties with anyone, get together and solve it. Both be willing to give ground, both be willing to repent and come to God and see how much happiness that will put in your life.
Here's what God's plan is, v 5: "Having predestinated us for sonship to Himself through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His own will."
What do you think God is going to do to those who love God and serve Him?
Let's use 1-John 3 as a parallel to Eph. 1; 1.John 3:1: "Behold! What glorious love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God!…." That sonship means His own children!
The King James has adoption; not so! Adoption is taking someone else's children. This is converting us to be God's own children.
"…For this very reason, the world does not know us because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be; but we know that when He is manifested, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him exactly as He is" (vs 1-2). That's going to be an astounding thing!
Verse 3: "And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, even as He is pure." That's the whole thing that God wants us to do in growing and overcoming!
Ephesians 1:5: "Having predestinated us for sonship to Himself through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us objects of His grace in the Beloved Son; in Whom we have redemption through His blood,…" (vs 5-7).
- redeemed from sin
- redeemed from Satan
- redeemed from our self
"…even the remission of sins, according to the riches of His grace, which He has made to abound toward us in all wisdom and intelligence" (vs 7-8).
That's something! I wonder how much our IQ is going to increase when we're spirit beings. I don't think there's going to be any comparison.
Now, think about v 9 in relationship to the Feast of Tabernacles, in relation to the Sabbath, in relationship to all the Holy Days of God, especially the Passover.
Verse 9: "Having made known to us the mystery…"—the secret! God's secret plan written in the Bible, but hidden from the world, though in plain in sight. Unknown because the world won't repent, but known to us!
"…of His own will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself" (v 9). God's personal plan to us; then we're going to carry it out to the whole world.
Verse 10: "That in the Divine plan for the fulfilling of the times, He might bring all things together in Christ, both the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth." Reconcile everything, correct every wrong, undo everything that is not right!
Verse 11: "Yes, in Him, in Whom we also have obtained an inheritance, having been predestinated according to His purpose, Who is working out all things according to the counsel of His own will." Think about that for us and then what we are going to do for the world!
Brethren, this is mighty, mighty, mighty thing that God has called us to. We need to be thankful, grateful, humble and yielded to God and seeking to do what is right. We need to change, grow and overcome!
Verse 12: "That we might be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in the Christ."
This is important, because all that we have right now is the earnest, or the down payment of eternal life through the Spirit of God.
Verse 13: "In Whom you also trusted after hearing the Word of the Truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in Whom also, after believing, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise." We are, today, sealed with the Spirit of God!
Sidebar: That's why none of us can be the 144,000 or the great innumerable multitude of Rev. 7; we are already sealed!
Verse 14: "Which is the earnest of our inheritance… [the down payment] …until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory."
Here is what Paul says in all of his prayers, v 17: "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him." That is to:
- understand about Christ
- understand about the Father
- understand about the Holy Spirit
- understand about the Word of God
- grow in grace and knowledge
- change and overcome
When we do wrong, repent, God is there to forgive! Here is a tremendous verse and why we keep the Feast of Tabernacles and the things that we do:
Verse 18:"And may the eyes of your mind be enlightened… [the deep inner parts of your mind to understand] …in order that you may comprehend what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints."
What a glorious thing that is going to be. This is why we're here keeping the Feast of Tabernacles. It's a preview of what God has planned for us. That's why it's important that we do all things:
- by the Word of God
- by the Spirit of God
- by the Truth of God
Verse 19: "And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the inner working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above every principality and authority and power and lordship, and every name that is named—not only in this age, but also in the age to come" (vs 19-21).
That's what the Feast of Tabernacles pictures, the age to come! Then the age of the Last Great Day. Then the ages of eternity beyond that!
Brethren, welcome to the Feast of Tabernacles, 2019! Have a wonderful and tremendous and loving and memorable Feast of Tabernacles!
Scriptural References:
- Isaiah 16:5
- Revelation 20:6
- 2 Peter 1:2-4
- Psalm 28:6-9
- Psalm 65:4-5
- Psalm 66:1-5
- Psalm 67:1-7
- Ephesians 1:1-5
- 1 John 3:1-3
- Ephesians 1:5-14, 17-21
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Isaiah 28; 4
- John 6:44
- Matthew 24
- Isaiah 66
- Revelation 7
FRC:bo
Transcribed: 8/18/19
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