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Fred Coulter – October 21, 2005
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And greetings brethren. Welcome to Day 4 of the Feast of Tabernacles – 2005. And let’s understand what God has called us to is the greatest cause, the greatest work, the most fantastic thing that can be. We are going to be given eternal life at the resurrection, we are going to be with Christ forever, we are going to help straighten out this world, we are going to bring it peace, prosperity, blessings, and everything beginning with Israel and for all nations.
Now you see today men, under the inspiration of Satan the devil, are building their own one world order. That’s going to be Babylon the Great, and God is going to eliminate it because that’s a counterfeit. And it’s going to prove once and for all regardless of what men try to do without God, and whenever they follow the inspiration of Satan the devil, it’s going to fail. And there is no way that all the powers of armies, munitions and the works of men, even fighting against the return of Jesus Christ is going to change it. The only thing that is going to change it is the return of Christ, the resurrection of the saints, and the carrying out of God’s plan as laid out through His holy days.
And so here we are, Day 4 for the Feast of Tabernacles, and let’s again see what God is going to do for the world and that we have the responsibility of carrying this out. We have the responsibility of following the blessings of God as He gives them, and the responsibility of following the instructions of Christ in how to do it, the responsibility of serving and helping the people, rebuilding everything that was destroyed that occurred before the return of Christ or as He was returning. And so this is a tremendous thing.
Now what I want you to do is this: Whenever you sit down and watch the evening news or listen to it on the radio or listen to some talk shows or whatever that you do, just understand men are fighting all of these problems and they can’t solve them because they reject the true God, and because they don’t keep His commandments, and because they refuse to follow God’s way, they refuse to acknowledge Him as God. Oh yes, they’ll have many, many, many different gods, true – but to acknowledge the true God, they can’t do that.
So Christ is going to return and they’re going to be forced to acknowledge Him. They are going to repent, and we are going to help lead them into the greatest most fantastic time in the history of all mankind. And then when we get done with that, as we will see, we have been called to something even greater when we get to the Last Great Day. That’s why that is called the Last Great Day.
Now let’s begin here in Isaiah 35. Now Isaiah is filled, as we will see, with a lot of the prophecies of the Millennium and the Kingdom of God, the government of God, and all of this sort of thing. It is there. And as you read these things you can understand why the Jews during the time of Jesus, when He came to the earth as a human being and didn’t sent up the Kingdom, why in wanting to have the power, you see. That’s what they wanted. They wanted Jesus to come to them as the power brokers and that they would exalt Him as King. That’s why you find it in several occasions that when they came (especially there in John 6) to make Him a king, He escaped. See, they wanted the Messiah to come to them, and for the Messiah to do their bidding. And so, because of that they overlooked all of the Scriptures which talk about Jesus coming in the flesh in the first coming, and His life and His suffering, and His death and the preaching of the gospel and so forth, and so men are left without the true knowledge of God. The Jews who reject the first coming of Christ don’t understand what’s going to happen. Those who accept Christ in the way of the occult Christianity of today, they don’t understand His plan, they don’t know what it is and they don’t know where they’re going and they don’t know what they’re doing. And so you see, the secret of God is with His people.
Now let’s understand something. Can we be trusted with that knowledge – to believe it, to understand it, to anticipate what Christ is going to do? Or are we going to do as many people – just up and walk off and turn our backs on it? Well, let’s continue on here. Let’s come to Isaiah 35. Let’s see here is a fantastic and wonderful prophecy of what’s going to happen. Verse 1: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them…”
Let’s come back to verse 16 of Isaiah 34: “Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them. And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein” (Isa. 34:16-17, KJV). Now that’s talking about the beginning of the Millennium. Now based on that – the wilderness.
Now if you look at a map or a globe of the world – the cities of the world and the bigger towns and so forth take up very little room. Most of it is fields, wilderness, deserts. Look at the big deserts of the world and see what a fantastic thing that Christ is going to do. Isaiah 35:1: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.” So God is going to eliminate the deserts. Now, in there, there is probably a lot of very fertile soil that hasn’t been used for a long time. As a matter of fact, in certain areas (I think it is) in Libya that they have deep wells where they are able to irrigate. So they have these big sprinklers that go around in these huge circles. You’ve probably seen them in the United States as well. And they plant alfalfa, and they are able to get a crop every five weeks. So that shows what the power of this is going to do.
Now as I mentioned yesterday, we are going to have a lot to do with helping the people. Verse 3: “Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not…” See, we are going to have to go out there and encourage them. “…Behold, your God will come with vengeance [He’s going to take care of all the problems], even God with a recompence [so He’s going to have vengeance and recompence]; He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.” Now this is also referring to Jesus first coming, but also His second coming because there are going to be a whole lot more blind that have to have their eyes opened, and a whole lot more deaf that have to have their ears unstopped.
“Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing…” And we’re going to do this. Now what I want you to understand is that we are the ones through the power and authority of Jesus Christ, the King of the whole earth, and we as rulers and priests under Him, we are going to be doing this. So if we can grasp that then this will help you understand the great and the fantastic calling that God has given us and the tremendous work that He has for us. “…For in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay…” Instead of the komodo dragons that they have today there will be what? There: “…shall be grass with reeds and rushes. And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness…” Now not only is it a highway, but this is also spiritually, because we’re going to teach them the way of holiness, because as we have seen in the series that we’ve just completed in Hebrews 12 we are to pursue peace and holiness without which no man can see God. So it’s going to be the way of holiness. And that’s what we are going to teach the people because see, we’re going to be preparing them to enter into the Kingdom of God. We’re going to be preparing them for eternal life. And that’s why we are going through what we go through today so we will be qualified. We’ll have the character of God. We’ll have the knowledge of God. And if course God is even going to teach us more things after we’re resurrected. I think this, just like as Paul said we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. He said when he was a child he spoke as a child, he acted like a child and when he became a man he put away childish things. Well, likewise with us once we are resurrected we then are going to be able to be given knowledge and power and understanding, which we cannot handle today, because you see we are still flesh and blood human beings. So that is really fantastic and exciting you see.
And so for all of you those Laodiceans out there, listen up. God wants to give you fine gold, the very best. And so we have this opportunity. Look at this: “…the unclean shall not pass over it [no, they’re not going to be in the way of God]; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.” In other words we are going to educate people in the right way. Now also notice this: “No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there…” Now you can put another Scripture there where it says (and we’ll see a little later), “This is the way, walk you in it.” And so that’s going to be the basic message that we are going to teach people. This is why we need to learn the Word of God. This is why we need to develop the character through the power of the Holy Spirit, and Christ, and God the Father in us to accomplish what God wants us to be able to do.
Now notice verse 10: “And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isa. 35:1, 3-10, KJV). Now you talk about a wonderful fantastic project and opportunity for us that God is giving us. That is something. That is really something because you see as Paul wrote the whole world is waiting for us. The whole world, bound up in corruption today, is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God and for the liberty and freedom that we are going to bring them. So you see, if you’ve ever wanted to do something fantastic and great wait on God. He will give us the character, He will give us the ability, He will give us the eternal life, He will give us the understanding, and it all depends on Christ. That’s a fantastic thing to understand and realize.
Now let’s come to Ezekiel 34. Again we are going to see how God is going to just absolutely satiate this world with the best. And in order to do that there need to be a lot of teachers, there need to be a lot of priests, there need to be those to help and train and so forth, and part of the task will be made much easier because, as we saw yesterday, God is going to give a new heart and a new spirit and a new attitude and we’re not going to be dealing with the stubborn rebelliousness of the children of Israel that they’ve exhibited all through their history.
Now Ezekiel 34:23: “And I will set up one shepherd over them [now this is actually going to be Christ, but David will be under Him as we will see], and he shall feed them, even My servant David…” And whose throne is Christ going to sit in? The throne of David His father. We’ll see that in just a minute. “…He shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it. And I will make with them a covenant of peace…” See, like I said yesterday, there is going to be a new covenant that is given, which is going to be different from the covenant that we are under. This is a new covenant for the physical nations of Israel and Judah and the nations of the world. The New Covenant that we are in today is differentiated from the covenant that God originally had with Israel is this: that we are here for eternal life, and we are preparing for it. Now they are going to also, but it will be a new and a different covenant for them. “…And will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.” (Ezek. 34:23-25, KJV).
Ok, now hold your place here because we’re going to come back. Let’s come to Isaiah 9 and let’s see the prophecy of Jesus. Let’s see that the government is upon His shoulders. And if you don’t have the booklet “Is God’s Ministry The Government Of God?” You know, you need to understand that. Christ is to rule in our hearts, isn’t He? Yes. We are to be led of the Holy Spirit, are we not? Yes. We are to have the laws and commandments written in our hearts and our minds, aren’t we? Yes. Christ is to rule over us – not a ministry. A ministry is to teach, to help, to inspire, to uplift, to help the brethren maintain their relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ. And when that’s done everything in the church in doing things together all comes together nicely in peace and harmony and understanding.
Now back here in Isaiah 9:6 it talks about the birth of Jesus as a human being, then it blends in to His second return. So we have here in two verses the first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ: “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…” Now all of these are names of God. Now if you don’t have the series, “The Prophecies Of Jesus In The Old Testament” be sure and write in for it, because that shows that all through the Hebrew Scriptures of the Old Testament the prophecies of Christ are clear and easy to understand. And I based this upon a book written by a Jew, Arnold Fruchtenbaum, who wrote the book Old Testament Christology (I think that’s what he called it) [Messianic Christology]. “…And the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God [God in the flesh you call the mighty God], The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Now let’s understand something: Christ will become a father after He marries the church. And what we do as the Bride of Christ, married to Christ, then all of those who come into the Kingdom of God during the Millennium will be the children of Jesus Christ and the Bride. Whereas all of those who are in the first resurrection are the children of God the Father. So you can say at that time then God the Father becomes a grandfather and Jesus becomes a father.
Now notice verse 7: “Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end…” And if you don’t believe that is true look at some of the fantastic videos or CD’s that they have on the universe and it is truly awe inspiring. “…Upon the throne of David [just like we read back there in Ezekiel], and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Isa. 9:6-7, KJV). Now that’s an absolute guarantee it’s going to be done, right? Yes.
Now think of the difference that there’s going to be in judgment, in justice than what we have in the world today. Now right while we are doing this video they are all lining up in the battle positions for the selection of the next one or two Supreme Court Justices. And they are all trying to get their way. None of them are seeking after truth and peace. They’re seeking the right, they’re seeking the left, they’re seeking the middle, but none are seeking God. So there can’t be any justice in it. There can’t be any truth in it.
Ok, back to Ezekiel 34 and let’s pick it up here again in verse 26. And what we are going to see is that the blessings of God are literally going to be poured out on the earth and the people of the world. And then all mankind is going to fulfill his destiny and purpose, because it’s going to be the restoration of all things for the very purpose that God intended in the beginning is going to be carried out by us.
Now notice verse 26: “And I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.” So we have physical blessings of rain, we have the physical blessings of the things that everyone would want: blessings of health, blessings of long life, blessings of children, blessings of land, blessings of food, blessings of knowledge, blessing of teaching all the people of the world the way of God. Can you imagine what it’s going to be like?
Now I don’t know if we’ll have the opportunity to do this but I have thought about it, which is this: If we could kind of be on a sea of glass space platform during the Millennium when it gets down to the time when the whole world is under the government of God, and we could start at the beginning where the Sabbath begins on the earth as it turns on it’s axis, and we could be there and somehow see and watch and listen to all people as they begin the Sabbath as it starts at sunset, and then of course they would all go to sleep and go to bed and rest, and then we come around where the sun rises and they get up and they all go to Sabbath services. Now they’re not going to have to drive anywhere to Sabbath services because there will be churches probably every third or fourth corner, which will also serve as the schools. So it’s going to be a marvelous and fantastic thing. And just think what it’s going to be like with the sons of God teaching them, and then the different ones participating as well, and the instruction given to them, the songs given to them, the praise that they will give toward God, the praise that we will even receive as the sons of God in helping and serving them. See, because we’re going to share the glory of Christ. And just think that would be like if you could be on this sea of glass and watch the earth turn and see everywhere that all human beings came together in happiness and joy and peace and worship of God, knowledge of God, thanksgiving to God, glory to God. What a fantastic thing that would be. Well, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.
Now let’s continue on: “And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD [everyone is going to know the Lord], when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will raise up for them a plant of renown…” Or as the margin says, small cattle and sheep and so forth. So God is going to raise up not only the plants and the trees but also the animals. “…And they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are My people, saith the Lord GOD. And ye My flock, the flock of My pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD” (Ezek. 34:26-31, KJV).
Now back to this about cattle. I remember when I was pastoring up in Boise and I went out to visit this man who has a dairy farm. And when he came into the church he decided he was going to stop artificial insemination of his cows. So what he did, he got a bull. And I tell you it was a big bull. He took me out there one time and said, “Here, I want to show you my bull.” So he opened up where the bull was in a special stall. He opened it up and here is this bulls head – I kid you not it was like that – you just look at that and think Whooh – big Holstein, because he had Holstein cows. Well, what happened was this: when he went to natural insemination with the bull, guess what? His cows had eight sets of twins. Now you think about an increase in money and wealth is double. So this is what God is talking about here concerning the animals. God is going to pour out just a multitude of blessings. If you think your situation is blessed today, and if you think that you live in a wonderful place today, and if you think that you live in a wonderful house today, or whatever it may be, especially here in America, or Britain, or Australia, you live in a piker’s house. You have nothing compared to what God is going to give you and compared to what the people in the Millennium will have available to them. So this is quite a thing. We need to keep this in mind and understand what God has called us to.
Now hold your place in Ezekiel because we’ll come back to Ezekiel 36, but I want to go over here to Isaiah 30 and let’s see how this is going to be done. There aren’t going to be any more mysteries like we’ve had this summer with Natalie Holloway down in Aruba. And of course if you want to know the insanity of the news that you get just remember how bad that was.
All right, here to Isaiah 30:18: “And therefore will the LORD wait, that He may be gracious unto you…” God is going to lead them in grace and knowledge and understanding and everything. “…And therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment [so here – judgment and mercy together]: blessed are all they that wait for Him.” Now that’s continuously beginning with Adam all the way down to the end of human beings. All those who wait on God – that applies to anyone who’s doing so.
“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.” There are going to be instant answered prayers. It’s going to be greater than what we have today. They’re going to think about it, they’re going to pray about it and bam – there it is. And we’re going to have part in that.
Now verse 20: “And though the Lord give you [it probably should read “had given you”] the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction [that is in the past before now coming into the Millennium and the Kingdom of God], yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers…” That’s what most of us are going to be doing – teaching. They will see us. It’s not going to be like now. We believe in faith, and worship God in spirit and in truth. When they believe it will be because they see it; and it will be because they see us; and it will be because we will be able to teach them the right way.
Now notice: “…and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way…” Like we talked about the way of the redeemed a little earlier – that’s what it is. “…Walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left [you’re going to hear the voice].” (Isa. 30:18-21, KJV). Now it’s going to be done in love and understanding, in graciousness and so forth. So it’s going to be quite a thing.
Now back to Ezekiel 36. Now I don’t know about you, brethren, but I just [get] really excited about what God has for us, and what we need to do is ask God to open our minds and our minds eye to see it. You know, like David said there in Psalm 119:18, “Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (paraphrased). So likewise with all of God’s Word, for us to be inspired, for us to be uplifted, for us to understand the Word of God, that God would open the minds of our understanding to realize some of these things, to give us faith, to give us hope, to give us conviction, to give us endurance so that we can be faithful to God and survive any of the things that come upon us whether it be unto torture or martyrdom, or we die before that time comes we die in the faith with truth and hope and conviction. That’s what God wants for us, see, because what He is going to do is so great and marvelous and fantastic.
Ok, back here to Ezekiel 36:8, again showing what God is going to do: “But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to My people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.” Now I just want to interject here something very important. The climate in the so-called Holy Land today (which is really unholy) is not comparable to the climate during the days of Jesus. The whole environment has been scraped to the ground by the Romans and it’s laid destitute. Now the reason I bring it up is this: because there are some people out there troubling brethren by saying that we have to have someone go to the Holy Land and look at the green ears of barley to see if they are ripe enough so we can settle the issue on the calendar. The climate is different. You cannot base what you see today on what was realistically done back then. It’s an impossibility. And another thing that’s important: grain ripens according to when you plant it. So you need to understand that. So here it’s going to be turned back to what it is today.
Let me just finish that with looking for the green ears of barley. Christ fulfilled the wave sheaf offering. And what business do people in the church of God have going to Karite Jews, who reject Jesus Christ, and be led of them in this nonsense of watching for the green ears of barley. And I’ve done enough calendar research through the years to know that the Karite’s never had it right in the first place. So why should we join to them. And yet some people in the church of God do. All right, back to here. I just had to interject that because the climate is going to be changed and everything is going to come back the way that it should be and we’ll have the right seasons. That’s why we have the calculated Hebrew Calendar so we know when it should be as God tells us that it should be and not base it on something that we see today, which is not in conformity with the seasons as the way that they should be. We need to understand that.
All right, verse 9: “For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown [that is the land]: and I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded…” No economic problems, see. The greatest problems of economics that we have today is war, preparation for war, and defense of war, or against terrorism and crime and sin and wretchedness. Remove all of those things and think about what sort of economic progress and building and everything that there will be.
Now God says here, verse 11: “…And I will multiply upon you [that is the land of Israel, which includes not only the Holy Land but everywhere that God gave the land to Israel] man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates [so wherever Israel went that’s where they’re going to be resettled], and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD” (Ezek. 36:8-11, KJV). Now that’s something. Just like the prophecy says, they are all going to know the Lord from the greatest to the least of them and you won’t have to have evangelism like you have today – “Do you know the Lord? Oh, here’s a booklet.” It’s going to be entirely different, isn’t it.
Ok, let’s go on. Let’s come back to Isaiah 32. It’s amazing how much is in here concerning the Kingdom of God and the Millennium and the things that God is going to do. I tell you, this is really a fantastic thing. Let’s pick it up here in verse 15. This is what God is going to do: “Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high…” God is going to pour out His Spirit on all people. Coupled with the change in nature I do not believe that we can comprehend the great and fantastic potential of human beings when this happens. It’s going to be awesome. It’s going to be something. “…And the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace…” That’s our work that we will have – the work of righteousness. And we’re going to continually bring peace. Quite different from what we have today. Remember the prophecy there in Isaiah 9 that of His government and peace there shall be no end. “…And the effect of righteousness quietness…” Everybody’s going to be able to sleep at night. No nervousness. We’re not going to have to have any burglar alarms. We’re not going to have to have police patrolling. We’re not going to have to worry about gangs. We’re not going to have to worry about thieves. We’re not going to have to worry about adulterers and adulteresses. We’re not going to have to worry about drug dealers and drug addicts and drunkenness and all of those things. No, it’s going to be totally different.
“…And assurance for ever. And My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings…” The bank’s not going to come and repossess it. And if you buy it you’re not going to pay outrageous interest. For example: You take a credit card today with the interest rates they have, if you make the minimum payment only they say it will take you 30 years to pay off the credit card. Now you know why I’ve said in the past, get out of debt. Yes, get out of debt all you can because the time’s coming when you’re going to be thankful you’re going to be out of debt. But here they won’t have to worry about it in a sure dwelling place: “…and in quiet resting places; when it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place [it’s not going to bother it]. Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass” (Isa. 32:15-20, KJV). So it’s going to be a great and a multitudinous thing for us to do and the prosperity is going to be awesome, breath-taking. It’s going to make our plastic society look like Flintstones caveman era. I mean, think about it. How many things do we have plastic. We’re going to see a little later on here too, the kids are not going to have plastic toys. They’re going to have the real thing – animals. That will be so much better.
Ok, let’s continue on. Let’s come to Isaiah 41, just a few pages over. Since we’re here in Isaiah we’ll sort of dwell in Isaiah most of the rest of the time. Let’s pick it up in verse 10. Here’s what we’re going to tell the people when we first bring them back. This also is for us today. If you get down and discouraged, trust in God. Turn to this Scripture (Isaiah 41:10), open it up, read it, and claim the promise.
Verse 10: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee…” And that means wherever you are, whatever you are doing, whatever your circumstances are. And as well that applies to Israel in the Millennium – God is with them, we are with them. “…For I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.” That’s what we’re going to do all through the Millennium. It’s going to be a fantastic time. This is going to be absolutely amazing.
Now here, verse 13: “For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” They’re not going to be saying, “Where is God? I wonder if God exists.” No. God is right there. And guess who’s hand it’s going to be? Ours, in the name of God. Yes.
Verse 14: “Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and Thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” That’s what God is going to do. It’s going to be amazing. This is going to be a fantastic thing for us, brethren.
Part 2
All right, now let’s continue on here in the book of Isaiah and let’s continue here and do the things that God wants us to do and find out what else He’s going to do. Now let’s come down here to verse 17 of Isaiah 41. Since we’re right here we’ll just finish this off.
Now here is what God is going to do, 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, 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…” Now as I have mentioned here the climate is going to change. It’s going to be put back to the way that it was. And he says here: “…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. 41:10,13-14, 17-20, KJV). So again, after all the destruction centered around the return of Christ, He’s going to recreate the surface of the earth. He’s going to repair all of mankind, that is those who survive on into the Millennium.
Now let’s come back here to Isaiah 11. Let’s see the kind of administration that Christ is going to have. And let’s see how it’s going to be carried out. And of course we’re going to be a part of it. This is one of my favorite chapters in the book of Isaiah concerning the Millennium, and it is also one that tells us some great and fantastic things that are going to happen and how the whole nature of the earth – men and animals will be changed.
Now verse 1: “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 this applies to the first coming as well as the second coming], the spirit of wisdom and understanding, 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…” Now also this is a pattern for us. The more that we learn these things that are here – wisdom, understanding, spirit of counsel, might and knowledge and fear of the Lord, the more that it’s going to give us understanding of God. The more it’s going to give us understanding of the Word of God. “…And shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: 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…”
Then it talks about His second return here: “…and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall he slay the wicked.” Now if any start to rise up and be wicked during the Millennium they will be taken care of very quickly. We’re not going to have as it is today with hundreds of thousands of convicted sex perverts living in the community. They will either be totally repentant and be righteous or they will be eliminated.
Now it also says here, verse 5: “And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins.” Faithful to God the Father, because see when it’s all done, when everything is finished then He’s going to take the whole Kingdom and deliver it up to God the Father. And as we will see, the New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven. Now we’re getting ahead of our self a little bit here, but that’s what’s going to happen.
Now back on the earth, here’s what’s going to take place: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb [complete change of nature], and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.” Now I tell you what – all of these pets are going to be fantastic replacements for all of the stupid toys that we have now. You think about it. How many toys that children have today are absolutely worthless. As I was coming back on a plane trip recently, I was walking up and down the aisle because I had to sit on a plane for three hours and it’s good to get up and move around. And as I was going up and down the aisle I was amazed the number of children and men and women that have these little games. And they’re sitting there playing these games. And you know what most of these games are, are demonic games and warring, and most of them have to do with an attack from outer space. So what’s happening with all of this today is it’s training them to fight the return of Christ. Now think about that. It is. So God is going to eliminate all of those things. He’s going to replace it with the real thing. They’re going to have animals, they’re going to have pets, and they are going to be able to lead them. You know, can you imagine that – a little child coming out and calling a lion and say, “Here kitty, kitty, kitty.” And here comes a lion loping up to them peaceful, not wild, not vicious. A total change. Now you ask any of your children if they would like to have a lion for a pet like that. Ask them if they’d be willing to give up their toys for a pet like that. Of course you can’t have it today, but that’s what all the children are going to have available to them then. They’re going to have their own horses, they’re going to have their own pets, they’re going to have to take care of them, they’re going to learn responsibility and all of this that goes with it.
Now verse 7: “And the cow and the bear shall feed…” They’ll feed together. You look out in the pasture and there’s a cow and there’s a bear, both of them eating grass. “…Their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.” Now that’s going to be a change. I don’t know what God is going to do. I don’t know if He’s going to change the teeth when He recreates them with this nature or not, and it’s going to be awfully hard to envision a lion with a set of choppers like ours all of the same length. You picture a lion and it opens it’s mouth and here are these big fangs hanging out. Can you imagine a lion smiling and it has this perfect denture of teeth because it now eats grass? Well I don’t know, we’ll have to see. But I’ve often wondered that when I read this. I’ve often wondered, “Is that what’s going to happen?” Who knows?
“And the sucking child [now this is one that is crawling] shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.” Now God is saying this to prove a point. Verse 9: “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain…” Now the mountain of God is going to be exalted, as we saw, “above all the hills and all the mountains.” That means over all the governments of the earth, and all the governments of the earth are going to be in the hands of the saints, and those will be under Christ. So when He says “in all My holy mount,” He means in all the jurisdiction which then is the whole earth, and follows up with this statement: “…for [this is the reason for this – this is the cause for this] the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isa. 11:1-9, KJV). Now if you ever have an opportunity to get out and go on the ocean (I don’t recommend you get out there when there’s a storm or whatever), but if you ever do and you look out and you see the vastness of the ocean, and the ship that looks so big at the dock is just nothing but a little chip of wood out on this fantastic ocean where day after day, after day, after day all you can see is water. And you think about how insignificant man is.
Now you think we have knowledge of God today? No way. We have the bare essentials here in the Word of God. That’s what we have. So this tells us there is going to be a tremendous outpouring of knowledge that comes from God. A tremendous educational process that we are going to also be involved in, in teaching people. And it also means that we are going to understand this tremendous knowledge, and we are going to be able to help dispense it to the people. Now I tell you, that’s something – the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. That is really a fantastic thing.
Now let’s come back here to Isaiah 62. You know the whole book of Isaiah is filled with so many great and fantastic descriptions concerning the Kingdom of God, the rule of the saints and what it’s going to be like, and how everything is going to be changed and recreated and made perfect. It’s not going to be like we have today.
Now Isaiah 62:1: “For Zion’s sake will I not hold My peace…” No, God is going to bring it. “…And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness…” So in other words when Christ returns this tells us that not only He but us are going to be busy and active and working all through the Millennium till when? “…The righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.” And it’s going to reach out to the whole world, because it says verse 2: “And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God” (Isa. 62:1-3, KJV). Now that’s talking about the dispensation that God is going ... I hate the word “dispensation.” Please don’t think I’m preaching dispensationalism because I’m not. But this has to do with the reign of Christ. This is how it’s going to be done and we are going to be part of it.
Now since we’re here in Isaiah let’s come back here to Isaiah 19. And just think about this. Here is what God has given us for hope, for inspiration, for instruction, for knowledge that we have not only a goal and purpose in our lives now to enter into the Kingdom of God, but we have a job and a work before us which is going to be all through the Millennium and then all out into eternity. See, this is what is so great. This is what is so marvelous.
Now Isaiah 19:23. Now you think about this – think about the way that it is today and then as I read these verses think about the change in human nature that’s going to come about. “In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria…” Now the only way that that goes is right through what is called the Holy Land, because Assyria is up in the area of northwestern Iraq. “…And the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with…” In other words it will be a partnership between Israel, Egypt, and Assyria. And that doesn’t mean the third behind because Israel will be the first third, Egypt will be the second third, and Assyria will be the third, third. “…Third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land…” What are we today? We are a curse in the midst of the land because we’re always involved in warring and fighting against each other. So total change of nature of human beings, of our relationships with the different nations. This also tells us that the nations are going to retain their identity, and they’re going to retain the inheritance that God originally intended them to have, and that they are all going to work together.
Now notice: “…Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt My people…” Well, you read it today. God says, “Don’t go down to Egypt.” Don’t learn of the way of the Egyptians. Don’t go after the gods of the Egyptians. Don’t do the ways that they do. He says, they’re blessed. “…Egypt My people...” Now that is stunning. “…And Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel Mine inheritance” (Isa. 19:23-25, KJV). So a total change in the nations, a total change in how people deal and function with one another. Love, and joy, and peace, and righteousness, and trust, and working together. So, I tell you this is going to be something. And it just blows my mind when I think about people who have given up on the knowledge of what God has for us and how He’s going to do it and the way it’s going to be done and all these Scriptures that we find here in the Bible talking about our calling and our job and what Christ is going to do, how beautiful the world is going to be, how fantastic the cities are going to be, how absolutely wonderful and cooperative all the nations will be. And I’ll tell you what this is going to prove, it’s going to prove that the United Nations was absolutely a Satanic counterfeit of the Kingdom of God and the rule and government of Christ. It’s going to be just absolutely no comparison.
Now let’s come to Isaiah 33. Here’s what it’s going to be – everything that the Millennium pictures, and it’s described here in the Scriptures. Isn’t it interesting. Stop and think for just a minute, the Catholics say that they could preach the teachings of Christ without the Bible and so therefore they don’t know a thing about what God has planned. The Protestants say you don’t need to read the Old Testament, so when they hear about something like we have here and what we’re reading it doesn’t make any sense to them because they’re all going to waft off to heaven. Well Christ is going to come to the earth, the saints are going to be with Him, and the whole world is going to be changed.
Now here, Isaiah 33:5: “The LORD is exalted; for He dwelleth on high: He hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness. And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.” So those are going to be the parameters – the governing policies of the government of Jesus Christ of which we are going to execute.
Now let’s come over here to verse 13: “Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge My might. The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” We’re going to be delivered from them. Verse 15: “He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; he shall dwell on high…” Now this also shows that those of us who enter into the Kingdom of God and become the priests and the teachers and the kings and the leaders – no more corruption in government, right? No, there won’t be any more at all.
Now verse 20: “Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle…” That’s where God is going to dwell. Remember, the whole theme of the Feast of Tabernacles is always that God will dwell with His people. That’s what God wants. “…A tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. But there the glorious LORD will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby. For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; He will save us” (Isa. 33:5-6, 13-16, 20-22, KJV). So there again, look at all of these themes that we have showing what the Millennium is going to be like, showing what the rule of God is going to be like. It’s going to be a fantastic and marvelous thing.
Now let’s look at preaching the gospel. Let’s come back here to Isaiah 51 and let’s see some things concerning the gospel and what’s going to be taught. It’s going to be a marvelous thing. Isaiah 51:1: “Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.” In other words realizing what we are. “Look unto Abraham your father…” Now Abraham is going to be one of the rulers in the Kingdom of God in a very, very high position. “…And unto Sarah that bare you…” So she’s going to have a great responsibility. “…For I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. For the LORD shall comfort Zion: He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.” People will be singing with joy in their hearts all the time.
So he says: “Hearken unto Me, My people; and give ear unto Me, O My nation [that’s us right now]: for a law shall proceed from Me, and I will make My judgment to rest for a light of the people.” And that’s what we’re going to carry out. “My righteousness is near; My salvation is gone forth…” Salvation is going to be coming continually all during the Millennium – a great and a fantastic process. “…And Mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon Me, and on Mine arm shall they trust.” And it’s going to be quite something here.
Verse 6: “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke…” So we’re going to be looking forward all during the Millennium when we know that all of this is going to come to an end. All the great things that we have described here are eventually going to come to an end. “…And the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but My salvation shall be for ever, and My righteousness shall not be abolished.” Hello, all of those in Protestant-land. “My righteousness shall not be abolished.” And what does it say? All His commandments are righteousness. It shall not be abolished.
“Hearken unto Me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is My law…” That’s us now. That will be all the people then during the Millennium. “…Fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.” We have to face the things in the world today but look forward to what we have. “For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but My righteousness shall be for ever, and My salvation from generation to generation” (Isa. 51:1-8, KJV). All through the Millennium. That’s going to be a fantastic thing, I tell you. You read all these things and it just is really a marvelous thing that we have been called to. Now just stop and think, with all of this to look forward to God has given it so we can be zealous, so we can anticipate, so we can look forward to it, so we can understand that everything that we go through today is fitting us and molding us and shaping us for this tremendous responsibility.
Now let’s come to Isaiah 55. This is quite a chapter here. This tells us an awful lot. Here’s what’s going to be preached, verse 1: “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters [God’s Spirit and salvation is going to be freely offered], and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Now that’s not the physical thing. That is the true deep things of the Word of God and the way of God and the character of God. “Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?” That’s what people do today. They spend money for things not only physically but also spiritually. “…And your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” Now remember Psalm 34 says, “O taste and see that the LORD is good.” This is talking about the spiritual things to nourish our hearts and our minds and our spirit, you see, which all human beings during the Millennium are going to partake of. “Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people [and that’s what he’s going to be during the Millennium, isn’t he?]. “Behold, thou shalt call a nation…” That’s what we are. We are a holy nation of priests and kings. “…A nation that thou knowest not…” Of course they don’t know us. The world doesn’t know us. “…And nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for He hath glorified thee.” Then it says: “Seek ye the LORD while He may be found…” (Isa. 55:1-6, KJV), and so forth and how God’s Word is going to go out and it’s going to come down just like the rain. It’s going to be a tremendous and wonderful thing for us.
Now let’s come to Isaiah 61. Now this is talking about Christ. This is talking about His mission, but remember Christ’s mission and His work continues through all ages into the ages of eternity. “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me…” And this is what He read as recorded there in Luke 4:16 when He was given the roll of Isaiah. “...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 the opening of the prison to them that are bound [that’s also going to happen with the start of the Millennium]; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God [that’s His second return]; to comfort all that mourn…” So here’s the whole mission statement of Christ. It covers His first coming, covers His second coming, covers all the way through the Millennium and everything that that’s going to accomplish and on over into the Great White Throne Judgment.
Verse 3: “…to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes…” Now, we come to Zion that’s in heaven above. So let’s apply this to ourselves. “…To give unto them beauty for ashes…” So whatever your trouble and difficulties are, you’re going to be clothed with beauty. “…The oil of joy for mourning…”, regardless of your troubles and difficulties. “…The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified.” That’s talking about all of the things that we go through today to prepare us to be born into the Kingdom of God and for the jobs that He’s giving to us.
Verse 4: “And they [we’re going to supervise them] shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.” And that’s going to happen. People are going to be doing things. People are going to be working for us. And it also indicates that we’re going to have some ownership here too. Now you stop and think about this for a minute. Did not God institute the tithing system? Yes. Don’t you think there’s going to be the tithing system then? And to whom shall it be given? It will be given to us. And then we to Christ. In the same situation as it was with the priesthood and the Levites – all the people tithed to the Levites and then the Levites tithed to the priesthood. So likewise they will tithe to us and we will tithe to Christ. It’s going to be there.
That’s why it says here verse 6: “But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.” So our time of glory is ahead. And that’s what this Feast of Tabernacles pictures. “For your shame [or whatever difficulties that you go through] ye shall have double; and for confusion [the difficulties and problems we go through] they shall rejoice in their portion [it’s going to be completely changed]: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth…” That’s what we are going to do. And then we will direct the people that we have been given charge and rule over. “…And I will make an everlasting covenant with them [so they will come into the Kingdom of God too].” Now we can apply this not only to people in the Millennium, but to us. Christ has made an everlasting covenant with us. Now that’s why when we have gone through the series in the book of Hebrews, we read of all the warnings for those who fall away, because you see it’s an everlasting covenant and God won’t break it. The only one who’s going to break it will be us if we fall away.
Now notice verse 9: “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. 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…” Now we’re going to have our garments, aren’t we? The fine linen of the saints – clean and white. And I imagine we’re going to have a lot of glorious fantastic clothing. But you see, what counts is this: “…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”, showing the relationship between Christ and the church after the marriage of the Lamb. “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” (Isa. 61:1-11, KJV).
Now let’s just take a glimpse at the economics in closing here and see what this world is going to be like. Isaiah 60:16: “Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles [that means the very best], and shalt suck the breast of kings…” Again, an outpouring of riches. That is a metaphor for that. “…And thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.” All the way through it says they’re going to know the Lord. All the way through it says they’re going to know God. And the earth is going to be filled with the knowledge of God as the oceans cover the earth.
Now economically here’s what’s going to happen, verse 17: “For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness [so everything’s going to be done fairly]. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.” I’ll guarantee you one thing, I don’t think there are going to be any locksmiths in the Kingdom of God. Think of that. Today, if you’re a locksmith you can make a lot of money. But you’ll be unemployed then. So that’s quite a thing, isn’t it?
“The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory” (Isa. 60:16-19, KJV), showing going on into New Jerusalem and out into the ages of eternity. So that’s what God has planned. So we’ll see how things will be as we come down toward the end of the Millennium. So at this mid-point in the feast, we’ll go ahead and say, “See you tomorrow.”
Feast of Tabernacles – Day 4 – 2005
Scriptural References
- Isaiah 34:16-17
- Isaiah 35:1, 3-10
- Ezekiel 34:23-31
- Isaiah 9:6-7
- Isaiah 30:18-21
- Psalm 119:18
- Ezekiel 36:8-11
- Isaiah 32:15-20
- Isaiah 41:10,13-14, 17-20
- Isaiah 11:1-9
- Isaiah 62:1-3
- Isaiah 19:23-25
- Isaiah 33:5-6, 13-16, 20-22
- Isaiah 51:1-8
- Isaiah 55:1-6
- Isaiah 61:1-11
- Isaiah 60:16-19
