(Day 2—FOT)
Fred R. Coulter—October 1, 2023
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Greetings, brethren! Welcome to Day 2 of the Feast of Tabernacles
Yesterday we saw that God's Plan is contained in the Kingdom. The meaning of the Kingdom, the meaning of everything about it, and it's called in the New Testament, the mystery of the Kingdom of God, which Jesus came to bring to His disciples the understanding of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God!
We put together in a book all the things that are in the Bible explaining about God's Plan for mankind! {God's Plan For Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days}
- we have God the Father and Jesus Christ
- we have the angelic realm
- we have the realm of Satan the devil and the demons
- we have everything concerning the earth
- everything concerning mankind
- what he has done
- how he has done it under the influence of Satan the devil
And how that has led to the first coming of Christ, Who was the Lord God of the Old Testament, and He tabernacled among us.
That was a type of God living with his people. As we will see as we go through this Feast of Tabernacles, that's also the whole meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles: living with God as His sons and daughters, and saving the world!
So, let's begin, and let's see what God says. We will look at what the beginning of the Millennium will be like.
Isaiah 46:9: "Remember the former things of old…"—the Old Testament, and everything that is there!
We're to remember that and understand the lessons and learn the Truth, and then add to it:
- the Gospel
- the Epistles of Paul
then the crowning capstone of the whole Plan of God:
- the book of Revelation, and how it's all going to come about.
Verse 9: "Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is none else, I am God, and there is none like Me."
Remember that the Hebrew word for God is 'Elohim,' and yet, it also speaks in the singular. Whatever the Lord God of the Old Testament brings, it also comes from The Most High, who is noted in the Old Testament, as well as the Lord God.
"…I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things, which were not yet done, saying…" (vs 9-10)
Now listen to this: Anybody out there who thinks they can go against God, the answer is 'No, you can't! You will think you can for a while, but you really can't!
"…'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure'"(v 10).
- Is there anyone going to stop God from doing that?
- Has Satan the devil and the angels stopped God from doing that? NO!
The will of God is going to be done, just like we saw yesterday in the prayer, Your will be done on earth as in heaven!
Now, if God says it, it's as good as done, though it may be centuries before it's finished.
Verse 11: "Calling a bird of prey from the east… [tie in Rev. 19 ] …the man of my counsel from a far country… [also talking about Cyrus in these chapters in Isaiah] …Yea, I have spoken…" (v 11).
Think about this for a minute! God is not like a man! Sometimes men just bloviate and don't mean it, but notice what God says about what He says:
"…Yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass… [He will cause everything to work out exactly as He prophesied and proposed] …I have purposed it… [that's the whole Plan of God]…I will also do it" (v 11).
That's why we can have faith in God, because whatever He says is Truth, and whatever he says, He will do: whether for blessing or whether for cursing!
Verse 12: "Hearken to Me, you stubborn-hearted who are far from righteousness; I bring near My righteousness…" (vs 12-13).
That's what He's going to do when Christ comes to the earth. He's going to bring:
- His Righteousness
- His Truth
- His Way
"…It shall not be far off, and My salvation shall not be delayed; and I will place salvation in Zion, for Israel My glory" (v 13). The whole thing about God's Plan hinges around:
- Abraham
- Isaac and Jacob and Israel
- Abraham and the Church
Rev. 19—let's see how Christ and the saints return to the earth and what is going to happen. It's going to be quite a thing! This earth is going to have to be completely rebuilt! We'll see all of that in just a minute.
Now, we've gone through Pentecost and everything that takes place on the Day of Pentecost, and how we're there over four months, because we need to:
- learn new language
- learn what we're going to do
- learn where we're going to go
- know who is going to be the one that we follow
There are a lot of people ahead of us in the Kingdom of God. God has a place for everyone!
Revelation 19:11: "And I saw heaven open; and behold, a white horse; and He Who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness…"
Like we just read in Isaiah, 'My righteousness is near.'
"…He does judge and make war" (v 11) We will see what happens to war in a little bit!
Verse 12: "And His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written that no one knows except Him. And He was clothed with a garment dipped in blood; and His name is The Word of God" (vs 12-13). Where do we find out in one of the Gospels?
John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with the God, and the Word was God."
Revelation 19:14: "And the armies in heaven were following Him…" Who's that? That's all the saints!
- we're going to learn what we're going to do.
- we're all going to be on white horses.
- we're going to come back to this earth
- we're going to start straightening out the earth according to the commands and the Plan of God
"…following Him on white horses; and they were clothed in fine linen, white and pure. And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword…" (vs 14-15).
All God has to do is speak it, and we'll see what happens in Zech. 14 what He does.
"…that with it He might smite the nations; and He shall shepherd them with an iron rod; and He treads the winepress of the fury and the wrath of the Almighty God. And on His garment and on His thigh He has a name written: King of kings…" (vs 15-16).
We're going to see that we're going to be priests and kings and rule under Christ!
Verse 17: "Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, 'Come and gather yourselves together to the supper of the great God.'"
And what a supper that is. Whenever there's a great disaster, God always also cleans it up. This is what he's doing here:
Verse 18: "So that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of chief captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all, free and bond, and small and great."
God takes care of the whole problem, beginning with eliminating the beast and the false prophet. So He has His special thing for them.
Verse 19: "And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together to make war with Him Who sits on the horse, and with His army. And the beast was taken… [probably by an angel] …and with him the false prophet who worked miracles in his presence, by which he had deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Those two were cast alive into the Lake of Fire, which burns with brimstone" (vs 19-20).
That's how God is going to start taking care of the problems of this world.
Verse 21: "And the rest were killed by the sword of Him Who sits on the horse, even the sword that goes out of His mouth; and all the birds were filled with their flesh."
Then God asked to deal with the source of sin. You can't bring in everlasting righteousness unless you get rid of the author of sin and lies and hatred against God.
Revelation 20:1: "Then I saw an angel descending from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand."
Now we covered part of this in detail on the Day of Atonement!
Verse 2: "And he took hold of the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 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…" (vs 2-3). We'll cover this on days 7 & 8!
"…and after that it is ordained that he be loosed for a short time" (v 3).
Now, here is an overall description of what we are going to do during the Millennium, and it's going to be tremendous. Brethren, that's going to be a time that we are going to be the sons and daughters of God, and we are going to help bring the world:
- peace
- happiness
- joy
- righteousness
- knowledge of God
Think about that!
That's why we're here. That's why we have Sabbath services every week, because we are preparing for the greatest thing to come upon this earth! And we will be an integral part of doing that!
If you have problems and difficulties, if you have trials and afflictions, put them all in God's hands, because look at the calling that he has called us to!
Verse 4: "And I saw thrones…."
Remember that Christ told the twelve apostles that they would sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. We have seen how David is going to be a king over Israel.
"…and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given to them…" (v 4). What's going to happen?
- judgment
- making decisions
- making things right
"…and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and those who did not worship the beast or his image, and did not receive the mark in their foreheads or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years" (v 4). Think about how tremendous that that is!
Zech. 14—let's see something very interesting, because this tells us how Christ is coming down to the earth. That means us with Him.
Here's a prophecy. Like we started out, God knows everything from the beginning and the ending, and He's working it all out according to His will. This tells us a lot. The first lesson that everybody's going to learn is that you can't fight God, because you're never going to win.
Zechariah 14:1: "Behold, the Day of the LORD comes… [tie in Rev. 19] …and your spoil shall be divided in your midst, 'For I will gather all nations to battle against Jerusalem…'" (vs 1-2).
God says He knows the beginning and the ending, the first and the last!
"'…and the city shall be taken, and the houses plundered, and the women raped. And half of the city shall go into exile, and the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.' And the LORD shall go out… [tie in Rev. 19] …and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle" (vs 2-3).
What did Jesus say to Pilate when he said, 'Are you the king of the Jews?'? Jesus said, 'My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight.'
But now it's not of this world! So, that tells us we're going to fight with Christ. Here we're all on the Sea of Glass. Then Christ says we're ready to come to the earth.
So, here we come down from the Sea of Glass, down to the earth after the seven last plagues have been poured out. The armies are still fighting. We're coming on our white horses. Christ is leading us, and we're coming down to Jerusalem, down to the Mount of Olives, which is just a little east of Jerusalem.
Verse 4: "And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall split in two…"
So powerful—BOOM!—the mountain is going to split in two. Think what that's going to do to all the people there trying to fight God and the saints.
"…from the east and to the west, and make a very great valley. And half of the mountain shall move toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 'And you shall flee to the valley of My mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.' And the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with You" (vs 4-5). An amazing thing!
Verse 6: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark. And it will be one day, which shall be known to the LORD, neither day nor night; but it shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem…" (vs 6-8).
That's to heal the whole earth starting in Jerusalem! "…living waters…". Also, a type of salvation coming to all people!
"…half of them shall go toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea. In summer and in winter it shall be. And the LORD shall be King over all the earth…" (vs 8-9).
We read in Rev. 19, He is Lord of lords and King of kings.
"…in that day there shall be one LORD, and His name shall be one. All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. And it shall be raised up and remain in its place, from Benjamin's Gate to the place of the First Gate; to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananeel to the king's winepresses. And they shall dwell in it, and there shall never again be any more utter destruction, but Jerusalem shall dwell safely" (vs 9-11).
Of course, that goes on and we'll see how that's going to be in just a little bit.
This sets the stage for the beginning of the
Millennium:
Verse 12: "And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will smite all the people who have fought against Jerusalem…."
So the sword that goes out of the mouth of Jesus what is it going to do for all of those who come to fight? The greatest secret weapon of all!
"…Their flesh shall consume away while they stand on their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets. And their tongue shall consume away in their mouth" (v 12).
What a fate! That just all falls to the ground. That's why God calls all the birds of prey to eat up all the flesh and clean up the mess.
Verse 13: "And it shall be in that day that a great panic from the LORD shall be among them. And they shall each one lay hold of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor. And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the nations all around shall be gathered… [all the wealth is going to come back to Jerusalem] …gold and silver and clothing in great abundance" (vs 12-14).
So, when God sets in to do it He means business! It's going to be quite a thing, indeed! No one is going to turn their hand against it. It isn't going to work.
Verse 15: "And likewise shall be the plague of the horse, the mule, the camel, and the donkey, and of all the beasts which shall be in these camps—it shall be as this plague. And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came up against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles" (vs 15-16).
So everyone who says—about the Holy Days and Sabbath of God—that that's for the Jews. What is Christ going to do when He returns? This is why He never did away with the Law! nor the Sabbath! nor the Holy Days, because all of those are foundational to God's Plan!
Verse 17: "And it shall be, whoever will not come up from all the families of the earth to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain."
That's how God will react and people will know and they will be told: 'You don't have rain because you didn't send anyone to represent you in Jerusalem.'
All people in the world can't come to Jerusalem but every nation has got to have the representatives from those nations come to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
Verse 18: "And if the family of Egypt that has no rain, does not come up to present themselves, this shall be the plague with which the LORD shall strike the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles." There it is! All nations!
- Are these not all Gentile nations?
- Does it say all Jews who don't come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles? NO!.
It says "…strike the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles."
Verse 19: "This shall be Egypt's punishment, and the punishment of all the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles."
Now how about the Sabbath every week? You know that's going to be something!
Now let's see how the earth is going to be. Let's come here to Isa. 24 and let's see the mess that we're going to have to clean up.
Though we're going to rule with Christ and serve all the people and teach them, the whole world needs to be restored! This will begin the greatest building and rebuilding project in the world. He says right here:
Isaiah 24:1: "Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste, and turns it upside down, and scatters its inhabitants. And as it is with the people, so it shall be with the priest; as with the slave, so with the master; as with the handmaid, so it is with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor. The earth shall be completely laid waste, and utterly stripped; for the LORD has spoken this word" (vs 1-3). So it's going to be completely devastated!
Verse 4: "The earth mourns and languishes; the world withers and languishes; the proud people of the earth wither. And the earth is defiled under its people; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, and have broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore, the curse has devoured the earth..." (vs 4-6).
Why do the Protestants insist that the laws and commandments of God have been done away? Those prophets are the leading ones to set the stage for all of this to be done, because that's what they said! I saw a Protestant minister online, and he did a good job in telling people that they need to repent and so forth, but he never said anything about keeping the laws and commandments of God.
So when you bring a message, if you're a minister or elder, and you only bring half of it, or you only bring 60% of it, or you only bring 70% of it, you're missing the whole point! Look what it's doing to the earth, and what causes all these things to take place.
We're going to read some things in the Psalms that have become important for us to understand.
Here's how the world is going to be, and God has to stop it all. All of the saints will be there to help stop it, and we will fight and we will win! The people will come to repentance and know that this is of God.
Psalm 46:6: "The nations raged, the kingdoms were shaken; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah" (vs 6-7).
All that happened just like we read in Isa. 24. Let's read on and see what happens, and remember in all of these things that we're going to cover from now on, every single one of us will be part of that!
- we will have responsibilities to do
- we will have things
- we need to teach
- we will have people that need to be healed
- we will have those who need to come to repentance from their sins
- we will help them do that
Verse 8: "Come, behold the works of the LORD who makes desolations upon the earth, Who makes wars to cease to the ends of the earth…" (vs 8-9).
- you must get rid of war
- you must get rid of all of the weapons
- you must get rid of all the ammunition
- human nature must be changed
Like it says there in Ezek. 36, that God will give them a heart of flesh to replace their rebellious heart, and that will help lead them to repentance!
Verse 9: "Who makes wars to cease to the ends of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots in the fire. 'Be still, and know that I am God!….'" (vs 9-10).
No talking back to God about this! 'Oh well. that was my favorite sword, I use that in battle. Sorry about that, fellow, you've got to get rid of it. Think about what's going to happen to all the guns. I mean, there has got to be a giant gargantuan cleanup of the way that men have armed themselves to the teeth. So, here's the message that will be:
Verse 10: "'Be still, and know that I am God! I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.' The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah" (vs 10-11)—ready to start the Millennium! That's quite a thing!
Psalm 45, and let's see how God makes us a part of this. Everything you have thought about when you watch the news and you see all the things happening, and you wonder: Why can't they get it right? Well, the answer is they're blinded by Satan the devil! Their desires are not to do good, even if it's right in front of their face, because that is complete rebellion.
Psalm 45:1: "My heart overflows with a goodly matter; I speak of my works to the King, my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. You are more excellent than the children of men ; grace is poured upon Your lips; therefore, God has blessed You forever. Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One, with Your glory and Your majesty. And ride victoriously in Your majesty in behalf of Truth… [this is the victory, the victory of Truth] …and meekness and righteousness… [that's going to be for all people] …and let Your right hand teach You awesome things" (vs 1-4).
So, we're all going to learn and the world is going to learn everything that mankind has deep in his heart about wanting everything right and everything 'holy' and everything good, but never, never, neverfinding the way to accomplish it. It will be done during the Millennium.
Verse 5: "Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies, whereby the people fall under You. Your Throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of justice is the scepter of Your Kingdom" (vs 5-6).
There it is again, the Kingdom of God, and we will bring that to the earth!
Verse 7: "You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore, God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your fellows."
Quite a thing, indeed! When Christ returns and the saints are there with Him:
- we'll put away all the wars
- we'll help people come to find out what they need to do
- what they need to have done to them in a way of helping them
- healing them
- teaching them
- bringing them the knowledge of God
- telling them God rules from Jerusalem
And we are here as His sons and daughters
- to teach you
- to help you
- to show you what you need to do
So, that's how the Millennium begins!
(break@40:00)
Now let's continue on with the rebuilding of the world at the beginning of the Millennium, with Christ as King and all the patriarchs and all the saints! We all have a great work to do! The most important thing that is in our lives right now is that we develop the character of
- righteousness
- truth
- love
- service
- meekness
- Why? Because look at all of the leaders of the world!
- Why is the world in the mess that it is in? Because all of the rulers are seeking to:
- do their own will
- exercise their own power
- dominate over other people
- not teach them the truth the way that it should be
Let's see what it's going to be like:
- there's going to be happiness
- there's going to be joy
- there's going to be righteousness
- there's going to be right teaching
- there's going to be great production
- there's going to be every good thing that can be imaginable for all people
and salvation and entering into the Kingdom of God!
That's all going to take place. How is that going to be with so many people? Listen, all you have to do is get a good view of space through the James Webb telescope website—
{https://www.nasa.gov/content/james-webb-space-telescope-latest-news}
—and see something that the people in the Bible were not able to see: the vastness of the universe
that God has made!
Remember God inhabits eternity and He wants all the sons and daughters and all the nations of the world to have a part in His overall plan, which He hasn't even revealed to us, yet. There's going to be about the whole rest of the universe.
Think about that! We need to think BIG with God's help of how marvelous that His Plan and everything is, but it can only work with love, righteousness and Truth! That's why all wars need to cease.
Psalm 47: "Clap your hands, all…"
Now whenever you have all, let, may or if, circle them, because all of that's important for you to understand what God is doing.
Verse 1: "Clap your hands, all you people; shout to God with the voice of triumph, for the LORD Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth" (vs 1-2)—everywhere on earth!
Think about that. He shall subdue the people under us. That's the saints! We will teach them and help them come to conversion, so that they can have
- husband and wife
- great marriages
- wonderful children
- knowledge and education that puts to shame the knowledge and education that's being taught children today
Right now it's all satanic!
Verse 3: "He shall subdue the people under us and nations under our feet. He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom He loved. Selah" (vs 3-4)—stop and meditate on it!
Sometimes we get so busy or we get so down in a trial that we're going through that we don't take time to think about things in the long term and what God is doing.
- God is going to help us
- God is going to lead us
- God is going to bring us to what He wants us to be
However that may be, and in some cases:
- there may be suffering
- there may be deprivation
- there may be physical ailments
but all of those things sort of bring us to God so that we can be in the Kingdom of God to help the rest of the people during the Millennium come to understand God and be converted!
Verse 5: "God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a horn. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises" (vs 5-6).
Whoa! Four times! We're going to have a lot of singing? Yes, indeed! A lot, a lot of singing!
Verse 7: "For God is King of all the earth…. [there it is repeated] …sing praises with understanding."
Now that's something, that's quite a thing! Think about it today. Most music today is idiot music or rebellion tribal music.
- not with understanding
- not to glorify God
but to preach this world and Satan's values!
Verse 8: "God reigns over the nations…." So, he's king over all the earth and He's going to be responsible and make everything work, and we have a part in that.
"…God sits upon the Throne of His Holiness. The rulers of the peoples are gathered together…" (vs 8-9). That's us! We'll be ruling the people:
- in love
- in truth
- in righteousness
- in the knowledge of God
with the power of His Holy Spirit, and how much evermore God is going to reveal in what He wants us to learn and know.
We will probably find out that that is going to be so much that the Bible will be like the introductory handbook.
Verse 9: "The rulers of the peoples are gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham for the shields of the earth are God's; He is greatly exalted."
Now that is quite a thing! Think about all of that that God's going to do!
Isaiah is a very interesting book. The prophecies are scattered and mixed in such a way that it's hard for people to understand it. It will talk about one thing that is reflective of one time period and right after it He will talk about something else reflecting another time period.
So this shows that many parts of the Bible are not written in chronological sequences as other parts of the Bible and other writings of men,
Isaiah 2:1: "The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem."
Now that's interesting! He heard it and He saw it!
Verse 1: "The words that Isaiah the son of Amos saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem."
Remember in Dan. 10:21 it says that in heaven there is the book or the Scroll of Truth already written out. How much more does that contain than we understand today? We don't know! But, brethren, the greatest and most important things are going to happen after the resurrection.
Verse 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… [all mountains picture nations] … and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations…"—they're all going to be connected:
- to Jerusalem
- to God
- to His Throne
- to His Plan
"…all nations shall flow into it" (v 2).
Notice what people are going to say right at first:
Verse 3: "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…"
All human beings through their whole lives are meant to be taught. That's why developing the character of God and the mind of Christ is a process of time. It's a Holy exercise with God's Spirit through His Word and through our daily living.
Likewise it will be in a glorious way among all the people during the Millennium, because Satan won't be there. We will be there. Think of that! We are going to replace all of the demonic things that have gone on; get rid of them and teach the Truth. That will be amazing indeed!
"'…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" (v 3).
Everything from God. Now we see what's missing in the world today. Now we know why it's in the message it is in. God has the solution right here in His Word. That involves every one of us,
Verse 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 how He's going to cease wars existing. Teach people the love and the Truth of God That's quite a thing!
It says the same thing here in the book of Micah because Micah was also a prophet at the same time that Isaiah was. Let's see how this is also brought out and expanded. It's going to be an important event happening all the time.
All representatives of all nations, which will be us. Then we bring that back to the people so they:
- know the Way of God
- understand how to live
- can qualify to enter into the Spirit Family of God
They will all be part of the physical Family of God. All of the sons and daughters of Christ through God the Father at the first resurrection, we will be the spiritual sons and daughters of God!
Micah 4:1 "But it shall be in the last days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come and say…" (vs 1-2).
This shows that the Word goes out and the nations have an opportunity to choose:
- What are they going to do?
- Are they going to come to God and find out what they need to do?
- Are they willing to come under the authority of the sons and daughters of God to rule and reign in that nation?
Subsequently, then everybody in that nation will learn the way of God!
"…'Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob. And He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths'—for the Law shall go forth out of Zion, and the Word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He shall judge…" (vs 2-3).
Now we're going to talk about judgment during this Feast of Tabernacles, because that's one of the most important things that we will be doing. We will be judging people; we will be teaching them.
Verse 3: And He shall judge among many people, and will rebuke strong nations afar off…"
There's not going to be any more rebellion. If there is, as we saw in Zech. 14, no rain, meaning no crop, meaning no food! Now it doesn't take very long for people to understand what they need to do when that occurs.
"…judge among many people, and will rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore" (v 3). That's something!
Verse 4: "But they shall sit each one under his own vine and under his own fig tree; and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken."
When God has spoken, it's as good as done. Think about that for a minute!
Now let's see some other things that they are going to do. Isa. 12—here's what's going to happen. Everyone's going to be thanking God every day. Everyone is going to be under our direction and control.
They'll still have free moral agency, but they must choose and they must decide what to do, and to choose God's way. Even though they'll have human nature—not quite as evil as we have it today—but there will be enough pull back that they're going to have to make the choices every day what they're going to do.
They will have to overcome human nature in the same way that we overcome human nature, and we will be there to teach them. So it's going to be a glorious thing, indeed!
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.'"
All the nations will go through that. Every person will experience that.
Verse 2: "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid; for the LORD God is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation."
Notice the individual, it's not just to the masses, but in the masses of people, we all deal individually. God does and we will.
Verse 3: "And with joy you shall draw water out of the wells of salvation."
Now that's quite a thing! Living waters of life! We've heard of that! There's the well of salvation!
John 4—when Jesus went to the well near Samaria and the woman came out to draw water and He said to her, 'If you would have asked me, I would have given you living water.' She didn't understand it, of course. But here's the answer here:
"…you shall draw water out of the wells of salvation." That's a fantastic statement!
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).
Isn't that something? Think of this: Instead of all the anger and wretchedness in the music today, we're going to sing praises to God. We're going to sing great and marvelous songs. And we are going to be filled with joy. The people will be filled with joy. Like it says, 'And of His peace, there is no end.'
Verse 5: "Sing to the LORD; for He has done gloriously; this is known in all the earth."
Think about the communication we're going to have in all the earth during the Millennium. It'll probably make this digital communication that we have today seem like tinker toys.
Verse 6: "Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst."
Whoa! Aren't those great things to think about? Now let's see what that's going to produce. How's it going to be? Isa. 11 is one of the Millennial chapters, how it's going to be:
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. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD" (vs 1-2).
That's how Christ is going to operate, and that's how we're going to operate. So, this will be the most marvelous thing ever!
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's going to give that righteousness and judgment to us] …He shall judge the poor, and shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth…." (vs 3-4).
That's what we're going to do, because judgment will be given to the saints of The Most High!
"…And He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked… [if they don't repent] …And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins" (vs 4-5).
That's an amazing thing! Everything God is going to do is going to be perfect. Also, there's going to be a change in the environment. There's going to be a change in animals, and we don't know how that's going to be. But I know one thing:
- no more toys of war
- no more guns
- no more swords
- no more killings
and the children will be taught correctly! So, let's read this. Let's see how it's going to be with the children:
Verse 6: "Also the wolf shall dwell with the lamb… [that's a complete change] …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."
What a thing that's going to be! Children will not need plastic toys. They will have animals. They will lead them and they will be gentle. The animals will be tame and loving!
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."
That's going to be something to behold. I can't imagine how that's going to be. Look at lions today, and their roar, their fierceness and their teeth; how they come after their prey and take them down and kill them, and stick their faces right into the guts of the prey that they bring down. They're going to eat straw!
Verse 8: "And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp…"
Now, I can't figure that out myself. I'm one of those who doesn't like any snakes at all. But here, the whole nature of it's going to be changed.
"…and the weaned child shall put his hand on the viper's den. 'They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My Holy mountain…'" (vs 8-9). Wonderful thing!
- no crime
- no wild animals
- no catastrophes
Here's why, and I want you to think on this! This brings out what our responsibility will be in teaching people:
"…for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea" (v 9).
When we understand that, that tells us that the greatest knowledge of God is going to be freely available to everyone. We learn it so we can teach the people! This is why we keep the Feast of Tabernacles. So we can keep our mind on:
- what it's going to be like to rule and reign with Christ
- what it's going to be like to teach the people
- what it's going to be like to teach them all the ways of God
"…for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 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" (vs 9-10).
An amazing thing! I mean, some of these verses that we find here are just absolutely out of sight! Let's see how all of this is going to be put into practice.
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" (vs 1-2). Going to turn everything around!
Verse 3: "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… [Satan the devil] …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 who struck people in wrath, with unceasing blows, ruling the nations in anger, with an unrelenting persecution'" (vs 3-6). Going to be changed!
Verse 7: "All the earth is at rest and is quiet; they break out into singing."
There it is! There are some other things that we're going to find, other things we're going to do concerning the Millennium, and concerning what God is going to do.
Let's come to Isa. 61 because it talks about us, and it talks about what we will be doing. This is what we will do. It says we will, we will be kings and priests, and judgment will be given to us (Rev. 20).
Isaiah 61:6: "But you shall be called the priests of the LORD; it will be said of you, 'The ministers of our God'; you will eat the riches of the Gentiles, and you will boast in their glory…. [because of their conversion and how they're going to develop] …For your shame you will have double; instead of dishonor they will rejoice in their portion; therefore, in their own land they will possess double; everlasting joy will be theirs" (vs 6-7).
Verse 8: "'For I the LORD love justice…. [that's what we're going to bring] …I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in Truth… [God is going to be directing us all the time with His Truth] …and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people; all who see them will acknowledge them, that they are the seed the LORD has blessed'" (vs 8-9).
Verse 10: "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul will be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the robes of salvation… [that's us; I wonder what that's like] …He covered me with the robe of righteousness like a bridegroom adorns himself with ornaments, and like a bride adorns herself with her jewels; for as the earth brings forth its bud, and as the garden causes that which is sown to grow…" (vs 8-11). There's going to be:
- the growth of people,
- the growth of understanding
- the growth of knowledge
"…so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to grow before all the nations" (v 11).
Think about that for a thousand years! This tells us that God's Plan is magnificent and awesome indeed, and everything that we are learning now is important for us as we come toward the first resurrection and the return of Christ. Then all of these prophecies, every word of God will be fulfilled the way that He desires!
Brethren, enjoy this Feast of Tabernacles:
- think about what it means for each one of us individually
- think about what it means for the nations of the world and all people
to bring peace and joy and happiness through God to them so that they can fulfill their purpose for their life and enter into the Kingdom of God!
Scriptural References:
- Isaiah 46:9-13
- Revelation 19:11-13
- John 1:1
- Revelation 19:14-21
- Revelation 20:1-4
- Zechariah 14:1-19
- Isaiah 24:1-6
- Psalm 46:6-11
- Psalm 45:1-7
- Psalm 47:1-9
- Isaiah 2:1-4
- Micah 4:1-4
- Isaiah 12:1-6
- Isaiah 11:1-10
- Isaiah 14:1-7
- Isaiah 61:6-11
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Ezekiel 36
- Daniel 10:21
- John 4
- Revelation 20
Also referenced:
Book: God's Plan For Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days by Fred R. Coulter
FRC:bo/po
Transcribed: 8/1/23
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