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And greetings, brethren. This is the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the year 2001. So time marches on and here we are all ready to go for the Feast of Tabernacles. And this is a very important feast, but just like everything else, there is a beginning, there is an ending. So this begins with the first day and it ends with the eighth day, which is the Last Great Day although the Feast of Tabernacles itself is only seven days long. So we have seven plus one equals eight, and that’s just the reverse of what we have when we begin the holy day season. We have one plus seven, that is the Passover plus seven days of Unleavened Bread. And then we have a total of eight days. And then we count seven weeks plus one day, which then is the fiftieth day or the eighth day. So all the way through the sequence of God’s holy days we have seven plus one, which is very interesting thing. We have it at least with Pentecost and Passover/Unleavened Bread, and Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day. Now Trumpets and Atonement do not fit into that particular category, but these three feasts do.
Now let’s turn to Leviticus 23 because here’s where God has all of the holy days listed. And we’ll just pick it up right here where it begins with the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles is really one of the great feasts of God. All of them are important. But this is the one which symbolizes the great harvest, the great ingathering, the great number of people that are going to be brought into the Kingdom of God, receive salvation, and become sons and daughters in the Kingdom of God.
Now let’s begin in verse 33. “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein” (Lev. 23:33-36).
Now for the Feast of Tabernacles, the offerings that they were to bring were really quite substantial. Let’s come to Number 29. And the reason that they are substantial is because you have not only the maturity of the animals, the completion of the harvest of all the food. Not only just the grains, but you have the fruit, you have the wine, you have all of those things at the end of the year. The apples, the oranges, the pears, all of those things. So that’s all a part of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Now let’s pick it up here in Numbers 29:12. “And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days.” Now here’s what they were to offer beginning the first day. And all the offering remains the same for the number of animals with the exception of the bullocks. Now let’s notice here verse 13. “And ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; thirteen young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year; they shall be without blemish.” And then all the other things that went with it.
Then the second day it’s twelve bullocks and all the rest that goes with it, and so on down until we come to the seventh day. “And on the seventh day [you shall offer] seven bullocks, two rams…”, etc. (vs. 32). Then on the eighth day “…ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice…” (vs. 36), which is only one bullock and seven lambs, not fourteen, and the things that go with it. So these were quite substantial offerings.
Now let’s also understand it’s very important concerning the Feast of Tabernacles, God commands us to bring an offering. Now let’s go to Deuteronomy 16:16 and of course we talk about this on every holy day. And in doing so we don’t like to reach out and do things which compel people. Now as I have said in the past, and I will say again, that if you have been so burned by being merchandised by religious leaders, and people taking money from you that in conscience you can’t give any money to a man, then don’t do it. But you have to get those things resolved in your mind between you and God, because you see, the issue is not whether God commands it or not, because He does. The issue is the abuse of men. And so that’s the thing that needs to be corrected. So we try and do that with the things that we do and we don’t make a big to-do about offerings. And once a year I promised the brethren that I would talk about tithes and offerings, which I do generally toward the end of the year.
Now here, Deuteronomy 16:16, “Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which He shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which He hath given thee” (Deut. 16:16-17). So when we pause here in just a minute to take up the offering, consider the blessings that God has given you from last Feast of Tabernacles to now and you do so before God from your heart in the way that is pleasing to Him.
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Now we know that the Feast of Tabernacles pictures the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, and the Kingdom of God here on the earth. But let’s ask the question: What condition will the earth be like when we begin to reign and rule with Jesus Christ? I don’t think we have any comprehension of the destruction, of the death, of the turmoil, of the earthquakes, and all the things that are going to take place. So we need to look at it from a realistic point of view, so let’s go to Isaiah 13 and let’s begin and answer the question first: What will the earth be like? Because that will be our first priority, to help restore the earth. That will be our first priority in dealing with people too. Not only to help them, but also that they’re going to need clothing, they’re going to need housing, they’re going to need all of those things. And of course they’re going to have to work to produce it to get it done and make it possible, but we need to understand exactly what condition that the earth will be in.
Isaiah 13:6, “Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand…” And we saw that on the Feast of Trumpets, how the judgment of God against the Babylon the Great is going to effect the whole world. “…It shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt.” Now you talk about battle fatigue, and battle shock, and mental problems, and physical problems as well as the wounded and the missing limbs and all of those things. It’s going to be something. “And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.” Or that is, their faces will be all just out of shape. “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world…” (Isa. 13:6-11).
Now a lot of people ask the question: Why does God have to go to this extent? Well, we need to understand something brethren, which is this, God has to do this. Not just to show His power, that He’s greater than anybody else. He can do that at any time. But because of the sins of the people, because of the magnitude of their rebellion and rejection of God. Now we have gone many years past the time we figured that Christ would return, haven’t we? We don’t know how many years we have to go down the road in the future, but I think we need to look at the fact that this society of man is going to get greater, and greater, and greater, and greater and they are going to begin exalting themselves higher, and higher, and higher. Plus the oppression of people will become more, and more, and more, and the control of Satan the devil through the Beast and the False Prophet will become so powerful, will become so great that the only way that God is going to be able to take the earth back is to literally do these things.
Because it’s not just against human beings. As we saw in the Day of Atonement, Satan has to be put away. So it’s men and demons, and Satan the devil, and all of these things combined. God says, “I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease…” And you know they’re going to be really arrogant when they have these things going, and they are doing all these things because they’re going to pretty well figure that they are gods. And so it’s not really just a battle of God against men, but it’s a battle of God against men and demons who think they are gods and are fighting Christ at His return. “…And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.” Now that is the terrible one, and that’s the one in Revelation 13 who exalts himself above all that is called god. “I will make a man more precious than fine gold…” Now we’re going to see that the death of human beings is going to be in the billions. And it’s going to be quite an awesome thing indeed. So much so that it’s going to make a man more precious than fine gold. “Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger” (vs. 11-13). And so God is going to literally turn this earth upside down.
Let’s come to Isaiah 24. Let’s see where it talks about that. Now maybe it’s reversing the whole magnetic field of the earth. Now that’s been done several times in the past. They know in the geologic timetable that it will be. Now here’s what the earth is going to look like. Isaiah 24:1, “Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant” (Isaiah 24:1-5). Now you see it’s very clever the way that they do it. They replace godliness with morality. How moral are you? And of course that’s a sliding scale depending upon your interpretation. And they replace the commandments of God with ethics. And they replace the laws of God with lawlessness. And this whole thing is just a formula to grow and grow and grow, and God is going to have to bring it completely smashing to the ground.
Verse 6, “Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.” Now we’ll get an idea of how few that is and what we’re going to start with. Because you see there’s so much that has to be destroyed. There is so much that has to be gotten rid of that this is the only way that it can be done.
Now let’s go to Jeremiah 25. Let’s see that there are going to be corpses, there are going to be dead people, there are going to be bodies strewn all over the land. All over the earth. And not just in one place. Everywhere, because of all the things that are going to take place. Let’s pick it up here in verse 32. “Thus saith the LORD of hosts…” When God says, “Thus says the LORD of hosts,” host means of the army. And that’s talking about the power of God. “…Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground” (Jer. 25:32-33). That’s quite a thing, isn’t it, for that to happen? So that’s what the earth is going to look like.
Let’s come to Revelation 16 and let’s see what the cities are going to be like. Now we know that Isaiah says that every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be brought low. So the whole thing that we understand is that the geography of the earth is going to be completely changed. And that’s going to be necessary to get rid of all the toxins, the waste, and the garbage and things that men have piled up for centuries. Now let’s look at the cities here. Revelation 16:17. Now this is when the seventh angel pours out his vial, but what I want to cover here is for us to understand that what happens here, what the seventh angel does, that carries right on over into the beginning of the Millennium because this tells us what the earth is going to be like.
“And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great” (Rev. 16:17-18). Now we out here in Hollister live in earthquake country, and we feel them every once in a while. But I tell you these are going to be awesome. The whole earth is going to shake.
“And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell…” (vs. 19). That means they collapsed. It’s going to be such an awesome earthquake that all the buildings are going to collapse. And of course there are going to be bodies in those buildings. There are going to be survivors in those buildings. So when we start dealing with the people as we begin to rule and reign with Christ, we need to understand the conditions that we’re going to be facing. It’s going to be a tremendous challenge for us.
Now let’s continue on here. Let’s come back here to Zechariah 14. Now you know what we covered on the Feast of Trumpets. Let’s come back here to Zechariah 14 as we talk about what happened on the Feast of Trumpets, how that the battle is going to be that the flesh is going to fall right off those that come and fight against Christ. And it says so right here in Zechariah 14. Let’s pick it up here in verse 12. And so there’s going to be all of that too. Brethren, this earth is going to be just absolutely literally upside down.
“And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour” (Zech. 14:12-13). So it’s going to be everybody fighting everyone. Just like every battle that God said He would fight for Israel, what did He do? He turned them against themselves to kill each other. And so that’s what’s going to happen here too.
Now then, with the earth in this condition Satan is going to be put away, as we saw in the Day of Atonement. So let’s go back to Revelation 20 and let’s carry this through now to the beginning of the Millennium and what we are going to be doing. Not only what we are going to be doing, but all the saints. And it’s going to be quite a thing, brethren. The beginning of the Millennium is going to be an awesome thing indeed. Here, Revelation 20. Let’s just pick it up here in verse 1 and we’ll carry forward now with the Day of Atonement and Satan and the demons being put away.
“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit [the abyss] and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years…” Now you see, let’s understand something. You can never, as I pointed out on the Day of Atonement, get rid of sin as long as Satan is around. Now we’re going to have enough trouble with just human nature with the people that are left without having Satan around. But with Satan they’re constantly to tempt, as the prince of the power of the air, the one who stirs everybody up, you see. With him bound it’s going to be a whole different story. So when we start the clean-up job and we have the people be aware of what’s happening, and of course a lot of them are going think that we are the invaders from outer space because the Pope is going to be saying that Christ is the anti-christ. Did you know there’s a Roman prophecy that says “anti-christ shall come, shall reign for a thousand years and abolish all idols.” Well no, that’s Christ Who’s going to do that, see. And Satan has to be put away. “And cast him into the bottomless pit [abyss], and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season” (Rev. 20:1-3).
Now after Satan’s put away, here’s the earth all in this cindering hulk and now begins the reign of Christ. Verse 4, “And I saw thrones [you’re going to have a throne], and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them…” Now we’re going to see that judgment is given to us under Christ. Now we’re going to have to make the decisions on how to repair the land, repair the cities, bring the people together. We’ll have the power to heal the sick. We’ll have power to comfort all of those who are depressed and shell-shocked and war-shocked. “…And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus…”, and I was just given an article here before we started the video taping that the State of Georgia is looking to enact a law which will make the guillotine the method of death. So you see, all of these prophecies are going to be fulfilled to the letter, the very ultimate degree of fulfillment. “…And for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” So there is the Millennium. We will live and reign.
Now the reigning and ruling can be various kinds. As we will see a little later on there are those who rule in the cities, there are those who rule over ten cities. There will be those who will be sitting on the thrones of the twelve tribes of Israel, as Christ promised the apostles. Everyone will have a job. Everyone will have a work and it’s going to be a tremendous work to do considering the condition of the earth.
Now notice, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” Now we’ll cover this on the Last Great Day, day 7 and day 8. “This is the first resurrection.” Now notice, “Blessed and holy…” Those are names for God, aren’t they? “…Is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (vs. 5-6). That’s a tremendous thing.
Now let’s understand something about this. Let’s go back to Isaiah 9. We are given judgment and also rulership, but here in Isaiah 9 we see the prophecy that the government, the responsibility of that rests upon Christ. Now let’s begin here in verse 6. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Now when the Church and Christ are married, just before they come back to the earth, then all of those who are converted under the reign of Christ and under the reign of the Bride, they are going to be the offspring of Jesus so that He will also be an everlasting Father, just like the Father is an everlasting Father. So that’s when that will be fulfilled.
Now notice verse 7, “Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end…” It’s not going to be like it has been with human beings. It’s not going to be like the civilizations down through history. There will be no end. “…And upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.” Now notice, “The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” So this is going to be quite a thing that’s going to be done. Really it’s going to be a mammoth and wonderful thing and we’re the ones who have part in it.
Now let’s see the first thing that we’re going to do is teach them to have no more war. That is those who want to submit. Now let’s come Micah 4 and we’re going to see and also understand that there are going to be some more battles. Now we covered part of that before so we’ll just briefly review that. But here in Micah 4, here is how the Millennium is going to begin. It’s going to be first a campaign to get rid of all weapons of war.
Let’s begin here in verse 1. “But in the last days it shall come to pass, 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, 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…” So not only are we going to be ruling but we’re going to be teaching. That’s why it’s important we know and understand the word of God today. And we can teach. We’ll teach them His ways. “…And we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Micah 4:1-3). So the whole fabric of society has got to be changed. Changed from a war society to a peace society. From a sinful society to a righteous society. From a society of lawlessness into a society of godliness. And then there can be peace. Not until. But it’s going to take some time. It’s going to take some doing.
Now let’s see how this unfolds. Let’s come to Isaiah 11 and let’s see how Christ is going to execute His office as King of kings and Lord of lords, and how He’s going to establish peace on the earth and how we are going to help Him do it. Now, let’s come to Isaiah 11:1 and see how He’s going to do it. “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him…” Now not only is this talking about His first coming, but also His second coming because you see when Jesus was baptized the Spirit of the Lord came upon Him, right? Yes. “…The spirit of wisdom and understanding…” And it’s going to take that in order to rule the world, in order to be King of kings, in order to be Lord of lords. “…The spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; and shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD…” And of course that’s talking about His first coming. “…And He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears: but with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall he slay the wicked” (Isa. 11:1-4). So this shows that it’s going to take a time to subdue these people.
Now the large nations afar off, big nations, we’ve got China, we’ve got India, we have all of Russia, Mongolia, all of the nations there east of the Black and Caspian Seas. Those nations are going to have to be dealt with. And then we have the battle of Gog and Magog, which is the finality of that, which is bringing of all of those nations that still have their armies over there, and Christ is going to rebuke them, and Christ is going to correct them. But they’re not going to listen. They’re going to come and fight. And Christ is going to have to make His power known. So He’ll have to rebuke them.
Now, let’s come to Isaiah 30. Isn’t it interesting that so many of the things that we find concerning the Kingdom of God we find in the book of Isaiah. But let’s also understand something else that’s very important. The whole Bible is full of what the Millennium is going to be with the Kingdom of God. Did you understand that? The Old Testament, the New Testament. We’re going to look at some of those in the New Testament as we go through the Feast of Tabernacles. Now we’re going to have an unusual thing that’s going to take place here.
Isaiah 30:18, “And therefore will the LORD wait, that He may be gracious unto you…” And we’ll talk about the salvation of Israel here in just a minute. “…And therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when He shall hear it, He will answer thee. And though the LORD give you the bread of adversity [that is through the tribulation that Israel comes out - that’s the bread of adversity], and the water of affliction, yet [that is, now at this time] shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers…” (Isa. 30:18-20). And we will be those teachers, brethren. We’re going to show them the way.
“And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying…” Now if they start going the wrong way. Now how are we going to do this? We’re going to do this every Sabbath when we teach on the Sabbath. We are going to do this individually and directly if someone starts really getting out of line. We are not going to allow murders and rapes and robberies and things like that. But we’re going to be spirit beings. We’ll be able to make ourselves visible to people, and also make ourselves invisible to people. So when we’re invisible, when the people turn to the right hand or the left hand, you’re going to hear a voice which says, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” (vs. 21), and that’s going to be quite a thing. So you talk about a super crime prevention way, God is going to have it. And really, when you understand it, that’s the only way that you can bring peace among men. But they’ve got to be educated into it. And after they’re educated into it and have the Spirit of God and are converted, then these things will come more naturally. They will be led by the Spirit and we will help them and we will lead them. And then they will begin to overcome these things.
Let’s come to Amos 5, and let’s ask the question: How many people will be left on the earth when we begin the Millennium? Now we’re getting pretty close to the point that the way the population is doubling, we will have 10 billion people on this earth within the next what, five years, seven years? Now that’s a lot of people. Remember we read that the earth is just going to be, the dead are going to be from one end under heaven to the other end of heaven. Let’s read it here what happens against Israel.
Amos 5:1, “Here ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel. The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up. For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by [captivity]…” Now these are the ones that escape. Now remember the book of Ezekiel says what? A third shall die by famine. A third shall die by sword, and a third shall go into captivity. Now notice, “…The city that went out by a thousand [so that was a city originally with 3000 people. After the famine and after the sword goes out by 1000] shall leave an hundred…” That’s all that’s going to be left. “…And that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel” (Amos 5:1-3). So that’s going to be quite a thing, isn’t it? Now that is leaving less than 10%. That’s 10% of one third, and 10% of one third is equivalent to about 3.33%. So that’s something. We’re going to have a big job to do.
Now let’s continue on. Let’s come to Jeremiah. Let’s see what God is going to do. The very first thing we are going to do, we are going to enter in, that is we, that is those who are the sons and daughters of God who are the priests and kings with Christ, we will help facilitate this. Let’s come to Jeremiah 30:1. “The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.” And we’ve got it right here, don’t we. God not only had it written but He’s also preserved it that we may know it. “For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of My people Israel and Judah…” Now that means bringing them out of captivity. And we saw that there’s going to be one tenth of one third left. “…I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it” (Jer. 30:1-3).
Now, let’s come over here to chapter 31, verse 31. Again, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.” Now that covenant is not the same as the covenant that we have. Remember the Old Covenant with Israel and Judah was the covenant that was given at Mount Sinai. The New Covenant that Christ brought was for the Church. That was not for all Israel and all Judah. So this is the New Covenant that God is going to make with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
Now notice what He says here, verse 32. “Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which My covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD.” And that’s why Christ died. To end that covenant. Now He’s going to enter into a new covenant with them. And this is when salvation comes to all the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
Verse 33, “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts…” That’s the whole proposition of conversion. That is what is to happen to us now, brethren, in the New Covenant we are with, with Christ. But now this is going to be extended to Israel. “…And will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother [and how many weird doctrines have come up out of that], saying, Know the LORD…” And boy how many things have gone astray when people say “Know the LORD”. “…For they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (vs. 33-34). So He’s going to establish that covenant with them and it’s going to be quite a thing that God is going to do in doing that.
Now, let’s come here to Isaiah 43, and let’s carry this on because you see the first part of the Millennium God is dealing with Israel and with Judah. And the rest of the world, if they come up to Jerusalem can learn. But He’s not dealing with the rest of the world in the same way that He is with Israel at the beginning. Because there’s still yet the war that’s going to take place with Gog and Magog, as we will see. There’s still yet nations that have to be rebuked until they give up their armies and give up their arms.
Let’s come to Isaiah 43:1, and let’s see what God is going to do. He’s going to bring them out of that captivity. He’s going to enter into a New Covenant with them. “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not…” All these things have taken place and all these things have occurred. “…Fear not: for I have redeemed thee…” Christ is bringing them back. Leading them back into the promised land. “…I have called thee by thy name, thou art Mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in My sight…” And Israel is precious in the sight of God. “…Thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life” (Isa. 43:1-4). Great vast numbers of hundreds of millions. That’s quite a thing. That’s something. This salvation that God brings in bringing Israel and Judah out of captivity is going to be an awesome and mammoth thing to see and to behold indeed.
Part 2
Now let’s continue on in Isaiah 43:5. “Fear not: for I am with thee…” And of course there’s going to be great fear in almost every person on earth, won’t there? “…I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring My sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; even every one that is called by My name: for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him” (vs. 5-7). And so when God brings Israel out it’s going to be really quite an absolute and mammoth thing. That’s the very first thing to be done at the beginning of the Millennium.
“Bring forth the blind people that have eyes…” He’s going to open their eyes and heal them physically and spiritually. “…And the deaf that have ears. Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? Let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth. Ye are My witnesses, saith the LORD, and My servant whom I have chosen…” Now this overlaps into the sons of God who are ruling as spirit beings with Christ, and it overlaps into physical Israel, and physical Israel is also going to be a witness to all of these nations. This is going to be an awesome thing indeed. “Ye are My witnesses, saith the LORD, and My servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He: before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me” (vs. 8-10). No more idols, no more statues, no more false gods, no more false religions. Now there may be little pockets of it here and there but this is all going to be eliminated as the Kingdom of God reaches out and after Israel has been settled and solidified, reaches out into all the world and to bring the whole world under the control and government of Jesus Christ and under the reign of those who rule and reign with Christ.
Verse 12, “I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are My witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.” The very fact that He is taking them out of captivity and bringing them back shows that He is God.
Now verse 14, “Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon…” And this is Babylon the Great now, the whole world. “…And have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King” (vs. 14-15). Christ is going to be King over all the earth. This is going to be a mammoth and tremendous thing that is going to take place. The conversion and bringing out of captivity of the children of Israel is going to be a great and marvelous thing.
Let’s come to Ezekiel 39. He’s going to have to fight for Israel. Once they’re back in the land then we have the problem with Gog and Magog. They come on down and they fight. And God magnifies Himself and so at that time all the heathen shall know that God is God. See, whatever time it takes for the children of Israel to come back into the land, be settled there, be some years for settling there, becoming prosperous and having peace. And it says in Ezekiel 38, no walls. So the ones from Gog and Magog are going to come down because see, they have not yet consented to the government of God, and the rulership of Christ. So they are going to come down and say, “Aha, we can take this.” God is just going to just bait them with it. So they’re going to come down with their armies and they are going to think that, “Yes, we can win this war.”
Now, let’s come down here to Ezekiel 38:23. “Thus will I magnify Myself, and sanctify Myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations…” That’s how God is going to start working with the other nations. He’s going to take those of Gog and Magog, all the hordes of the east and the north, and they are going to come and it’s going to be a great slaughter. “…And they shall know that I am the LORD.”
Now Ezekiel 39:1. “Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: and I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee…” Now a sixth part of those that were left over after all the wars. So their population is going to be brought way down. And they are going to come up against Israel.
Now here in verse 6. “And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.” Notice everywhere it says “they shall know”. Meaning until that time into the beginning of the Millennium they didn’t know. A lot of them are going to think, “Well, you know, this is the alien from outer space. That’s what the Pope and the Beast told us. These are invaders from outer space and you need to be careful of them.” So He’s going to make it known.
Verse 7, “So will I make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel…” So this is also going to have an impact upon Israel, now settled back on the land. “…And I will not let them pollute My holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.” It’s going to be quite a thing. Now we’re going to see this is really going to be something here, isn’t it? Let me just summarize it here what they are going to do after this battle. How long is it going to take for them to gather up the weapons? “So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land” (vs. 10-12). So it’s going to be quite a thing. Another great slaughter. And that’s the last slaughter that’s going to take place before the Millennium begins coming over all the earth.
Now since we’re here in Ezekiel, let’s come to Ezekiel 47:6 and let’s see what’s going to happen here. “And He said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then He brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.” Now this is the water that is coming out of the temple. “Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.” Now this is what’s going to go forth and heal the whole earth. “Then said He unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live…” (Ezek. 47:6-9). So this is going to be like a great healing that’s just going to go through the whole earth.
Now notice what this is going to be. This is not only just a physical healing but it’s also a spiritual healing. Let’s come back to Isaiah 11 and let’s see how this water is going to be. Because it’s going to go out and in the final analysis of this with Ezekiel, he got out there and it was so deep, the only thing that he could do was swim. Well, let’s come over here to Isaiah 11:9 and let’s see what it’s going to be. “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” And so it’s just going to fill and just be like that in the whole world to bring the whole world under the control and under the knowledge of God. Quite a thing to take place.
Now we also have a picture of this in the book of Revelation. Very last chapter in the book of Revelation. It’s like the rivers of the water that come out of the throne of God to heal the whole earth, to bring life to wherever it goes. We have the same thing. We have another picture of it. Now granted this goes on beyond the Millennium and on into the fulfillment of the Last Great Day, but nevertheless this shows exactly the process that is going to happen.
Revelation 22:1, “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it [that is New Jerusalem], and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse…” (Rev 22:1-3). So when it comes to that point then the Millennium will be fully functioning going around all the world. All nations will learn. All nations will worship God. There will be mass conversions. There will be a straightening out of everything that has gone wrong. There will be the love of God, the love of people. There will be peace, there will be security, there will be happiness. There will be right government through the sons and daughters of God ruling and reigning with Christ. There will be right education. The word of God will be taught. There will be right education on how people can live, how they can use the resources that God has created. They will learn the right things. The families will be brought together, they will stay together. There will be no divorce. There will be no crime. None of those things will take place. So this is going to be quite a thing for the healing of the nations for this to take place.
Now let’s come back here to Isaiah 41 and let’s also see how the Millennium is going to progress. Let’s begin in verse 17. “When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them…” Now this is hungering and thirsting after the word of God. This is what it’s going to be like all during the Millennium. People are going to want to know about the word of God. “…I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together: that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it” (Isa. 41:17-20). That’s going to be quite a time. You talk about repairing the whole earth. Bringing it to the place that it needs to be, where there’s peace and happiness and security.
There’s going to be a change in the nature of animals, as we know. Let’s just look at that in Isaiah 11 here, because we can’t talk about the Millennium without that, because what a change that is going to be. I tell you what, we can all say, “Thank God, praise God, Halleluia,” if we could say it that way. No more plastic toys. No more soldiers. No more guns. No more things like that for children. They’re going to have real live pets to work with. Now let’s pick it up here, Isaiah 11:6. “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid…” Now, I tell you what, when children have pets that are alive and they have to take care of them. Now they learn a lot of things, don’t they, that you can’t learn with a toy, see. You can take a toy and you can smash it with a hammer and it has no reaction. Now you try that with an animal and it’s going to have a reaction. So they’re going to have to learn how to take care of the animals. And they’re going to have to understand what it’s going to be like.
“…And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together…” They are all going to be together. Now notice, “…and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed...” Now, bears eat grass right now, but the cow and the bear don’t eat together. There they will eat together. “…Their young ones shall lie down together…” Unheard of. Would it happen in this world? “…And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.” Now that’s going to be something to see. I don’t know if God’s going to have to recreate the teeth of lions so they can do it, because the fangs that they have now are for tearing meat. You don’t need those kind of teeth for chewing grass. But nevertheless it’s going to happen. “And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp…” Which is an unthinkable thing today, that would never happen today. “…And the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain…” (Isa. 11:6-9). So that’s going to be quite a thing.
The whole nature of everything is going to be changed. There will never again be societies like we have today because Christ is going to rule and we are going to help Him. And the people are going to be blessed. And the people will fulfill the purposes for their lives, and they will know God, and they will love God, and they will love each other. And we won’t have the family fights and quarrels and hatreds that we have now. What a tremendous blessing that is. Just think of all the bureaucracies that are going to be gotten rid of. Police department, justice department, family planning department. All abortion clinics are gone. Public schools will be Godly schools. All communities will have churches virtually on every corner. No one is going to have to travel to go to Sabbath services. They can walk. That will be where the school will be. And that will be where we will be to help them, to teach them, to train them. This is going to be a fantastic thing, brethren that’s going to take place. But you see the earth has to be all brought back. Now the people are going to work. The people are going to produce. They are going to build. They are going to straighten out the mess that was caused because of their sin.
Now let’s come here to Isaiah 52:7. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace…” Now that will be us when we’re out there doing that. “…That bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; and the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted His people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” (Isa. 52:7-10). And so it’s going to be quite a thing when that takes place.
Now let’s come here to Isaiah 61 and let’s see how they’re going to work. What they’re going to do, and how salvation is going to be brought, and what is going to be accomplished. It’s going to be a great thing, brethren. Here, verse 1. “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me…” Now remember when Jesus started His ministry in Galilee and went to Nazareth into the synagogue, where it was His custom to go, that was on the Feast of Pentecost and He read these very words. And as a matter of fact in the schedule of the reading of scriptures in the synagogues on Pentecost, Isaiah 61 is read.
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives [and there are going to be a lot of captives we’re going to be letting out of prison], and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness [instead of those who sinned and rebelled against God], the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified” (Isa. 61:1-3).
Notice what they are going to do. “And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations” (vs. 4). And one thing for sure, every idol will be destroyed. Every symbol of anything to do with any secret societies will be destroyed. All of that knowledge will be obliterated from the face of the earth. And they’re going to build right cities, and good cities. And God is the One Who is going to give us the designs on how we can show them how to build their cities.
“And the strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD…” (vs. 5-6). Now that’s referring to us. Now here mixed in with this is with those of us who will be supervising and causing this to be done, as well as the children of Israel and the inhabitants of the earth who will be doing the actual labor, who will be cleaning the bricks up, who will be gathering the metal, who will be melting it down and redoing it and so we can have things to work with.
Now let’s see what’s going to happen here. Let’s pick it up here in Isaiah 60:15. “Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.” All down during the Millennium it’s going to be a joy unto many generations. “Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. For brass I will bring gold…” (Isa. 60:15-17). You talk about economic prosperity. And you see today, we live in a fools world, economically. Because it’s all based upon trust. There is no substance to it at all. Here it’s going to be based on real wealth. It’s not going to be a credit card society. It is going to be a society with actual gold and silver and precious stones. And notice how plentiful it’s going to be.
“For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron…” Now just imagine. Everyone is going to have an occupation. Everyone is going to be able to build and help put things together. Just think of the beautiful cities that are going to be constructed with the blessing of God, with the blessing of us working with those people so that they can do it. No more idols, no more sin, no more gargoyles on the buildings, no more glorifying of the statues of women and things like this. No more of the Greek nakedness and statues and idols. All gone. But pure beauty, pure righteousness, pure buildings that are magnificent and wonderful. And they will have gold and silver and precious stones, and all of those things. So it’s going to be a wonderous thing that we’re going to be doing in helping them do. Ok, now notice, “…I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness” (vs. 17). So they’re going to be paying. There will be the tithes and offerings that they will be giving. And let’s also understand this: No more IRS. No more taxes in the way that we have them today. No more sales tax. No more income tax. Yes, we will have the tithes of God. Yes, we will have the offerings of God, but it’s not going to be like it is today in the 50, 60, and 70% bracket. It will be something.
“Violence shall no more be heard in thy land…” No more. We’re not going to have it like we saw this last summer where a mother took her five children and deliberately in cold blood drowned them one at a time in the bathtub. No more robbery, no more muggings, no more looting, no more stabbings, no more shootings. Imagine that? No more thievery, cause if someone goes out and he says, “Well, I’m going to begin stealing.” He’ll hear a voice, “Ah, ah, ah. That’s not the way.” And there is going to be, you know, today they make a big deal out of conflict resolution, don’t they? You can trust God. There is going to be peace and harmony and love, and conflict resolution will be just as easy as can be. They’re going to obey mother and father. They’re going to obey God. They’re going to be obeying us. They will be worshipping God the Father and Jesus Christ. There will be righteousness and judgment. There will be equity in all of those things in the land, you see. It’s going to be something. “Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction [never have to worry about the roar of tanks coming up the street] within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise”(vs. 18). So that’s quite a thing that’s going to take place.
Now, let’s come back over here to chapter 61. Now notice what’s going to happen, verse 7. “For your shame [that Israel went through] ye shall have double; and for [your] confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double...” Now I cannot comprehend that kind of wealth and prosperity, but you see you can only truly handle wealth and prosperity on this scale if there is truth and righteousness. Otherwise there will be power plays and corruption, and robbery and thievery and all of that sort of thing. And you would have those, like we have today, it won’t be then but today we have those, they see the money and the power and they just reach out and they just begin bringing it in all to themselves. Witness the banks. Witness those who control the big corporations today. No more will it be that way. No, but everyone will have double and it will be true righteousness. “…Everlasting joy shall be unto them” (Isa. 61:7).
“For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them” (vs. 8). So this is quite a thing we are going to do in bringing the rule and government of God on earth. It’s going to be mass conversion. Can you imagine what it’s going to be like to have the majority of all people converted with the Spirit of God? Now that is going to be an awesome thing indeed. But God said He’s going to make an everlasting covenant with them.
“And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed” (vs. 9). Now granted some of that spills over into us who are ruling and reigning as kings and priests with Christ, but it will also be for them.
Now notice, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God…” (vs. 10). And this is the way it’s going to be with everyone. Can you imagine the events that we are going to have? Can you imagine the things that we are going to do like what Sabbath services are going to be like? What singing, what musician work that we’re going to have. What preaching that we are going to be able to bring to them. Because you see it won’t be like today. We’re going to be preaching with power and righteousness and truth because the word of God is going to greatly increase beyond what we have it here now, you see. Because the knowledge of the Lord is going to cover the earth as the waters cover the seas. So we’re going to have an endless amount of things to talk about and teach and preach and to instruct upon. But the whole thing is that it’s going to be based on the love of God. Can you imagine a society that is loving God, everyone with all his heart, with all his mind, with all his soul, with all his being, or with her, all her heart, all her mind, all her soul, all her being? Where you have husbands loving wives, and wives loving husbands, and having households with happy children with no sickness, with no disease. None of these things coming along. Boy, that’s going to be a thing. And we are the ones who are going to do it.
Now notice, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation…” So they are going to see the whole purpose of things. Way beyond, granted this can apply to us with the garments of salvation, but during the Millennium are not those people as they come to the point where they are ready to enter into the Kingdom of God, will they not be clothed with the garments of salvation as well? Yes, they will. “…He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations” (vs. 10-11). And that’s what God is going to do.
So that’s how God is going to perform the things during the Millennium. And brethren, what a great and a marvelous thing we have to look forward to, that we can usher in the Millennium and bring the government of God and the peace of God and the righteousness of God, and everlasting salvation to all the people of the world. That’s why this Feast of Tabernacles is so great and so powerful.
